Last month saw the cancellations of the Marvel Netflix shows announced with Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, with cancellations expected for Punisher and Jessica Jones as well, but does that mean the shows or characters will never return?
Kevin Mayer, the chairman of Walt Disney direct-to-consumer and international, offers that a revival could be possible, though unfortunately, nothing is happening about it right now.
“They are very high-quality shows. We haven’t yet discussed that, but I would say that’s a possibility,” Mayer tells THR.
Regarding why there may be no talks about bringing back Daredevil right now could be because Netflix apparently still holds the rights. In Netflix’s official statement about the cancellation, the streaming service offered that the shows would be a part of the network for years to come, which suggests they retain the rights to the Marvel TV Netflix series and versions of the characters. It has been reported the characters could still be used, but that they would need to be rebooted with new actors, meaning Charlie Cox would need to be replaced. It could always be possible that Disney simply waits for the rights to return, but again, that seems to be at least a couple of years away or more.
In the meantime, Marvel Studios is launching its own TV series as part of the upcoming Disney+ streamings service, which includes series for Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, and a team-up series featuring Anthony Mackie as Falcon and Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier. A Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff with Rocket and Groot is also rumored as a possible Disney+ Marvel Studios TV series.
Mayer also was responsible for putting together the Disney Fox deal, which is expected to officially go through soon as it is just waiting on approval from foreign countries (the latest is that Brazil will approve the deal). Mayer also said that the Disney+ streaming service will be the only place to find their content (meaning nothing on competitor apps like Netflix).
“Ultimately our direct-to-consumer service is going to be the only place you can find that content,” Mayer said.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is last MCU movie to be featured on Netflix, as starting with Captain Marvel and going forward, the Marvel movies will be a part of the Disney+ streaming service, which launches next year.
The final seasons of Punisher (January) and Jessica Jones will still air on Netflix.
