It appears that Netflix has begun to post a “Last Day to Watch” notice for its “Defenders-verse” characters for Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Marvel’s Iron Fist, Marvel’s The Defenders, and Marvel’s The Punisher, and that last day is February 28 of this year.
There was no formal announcement released from the Netflix Streaming service. However, viewers have noticed a “Last day to watch on Netflix: February 28” announcement when they tuned into Netflix to watch the shows.
The Marvel Netflix Titles
Netflix launched the start of the “Defendersverse” in 2015 with the premiere and first episode of Daredevil (starring Charlie Cox) in April of 2015. Following the success of that first season, other related characters to this spectrum of the Marvel TV Universe (not yet specifically Marvel Cinematic Universe related) would soon start to make their appearance with titles such as Jessica Jones (starring Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (starring Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (starring Finn Jones). These four characters would ultimately lead to their simultaneous appearance in their own Avengers-like series entitled The Defenders. Although The Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal) made his character debut on Daredevil Season 2, The Punisher series would make its debut in November of 2017.
While Daredevil and Jessica Jones each respectively earned 3 seasons, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher garnered 2 seasons. The Defenders, however, only gained one season.
Netflix Giving Marvel Titles the Axe
Fast forward about a year later, fans were feeling the hit left and right with news of cancellation after the cancellation of the Live-Action Marvel Titles especially when it came to Daredevil. The series that launched the franchise was the last one out the door, despite its huge critical acclaim, and received its cancellation in November of 2018. This left fans dismayed and heartbroken to see the horned hero go in what has been arguably the best portrayal of the Daredevil character by Charlie Cox.
So Where Do They Go Next?
After the cancellation of the Daredevil series by the end of its 3rd season, Netflix still had a moratorium on the character and the rest of The Defenders-related characters for 2 years. Fans began to debate and hope for a reprisal of the character sometime soon in the future. Well, 2021 gave us the long-awaited answer to any of that debate. It started with the amazing Vincent D’Onofrio reprising his role as “Wilson Fisk” aka “Kingpin” in Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye streaming on Disney Plus. Right behind D’Onofio, Charlie Cox made his appearance as Matt Murdock is one of the most mind-blowing ways, and it helped ease some of the doubt that has been cast over the “Fandom Without Fear” for 3 years. Fans well aware of the character and the Daredevil series were able to see him again in the blockbuster success of Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man No Way Home. Albeit a short appearance, it meant a lot to fans who now know that Matt Murdock/Daredevil is officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As far as Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Punisher, their futures are yet to be determined. So after that “last day to watch” notice being put up on the aforementioned Marvel Netflix shows, the next question might be the obvious, “Ok, What Next?” Well, that just leaves the House of Mouse to decide whether to have the rights to stream any of the series on Disney Plus or Hulu. However, due to the adult-themed and more “mature” content of each of the Original Netflix Marvel series, it may not be fitting for any of the series to stream on Disney Plus since it has been touted to feature more “family-friendly” content. Hulu, on the other hand, appears to be more accepting of the themes and tone of the “Defendersverse” characters, and would, in essence, make more sense. While not wholly Disney-owned, Disney still holds a majority of the stake in Hulu while Comcast holds a lesser of the stake over the streaming service. It’s only a matter of time before Disney would have complete control over Hulu. Hulu is no stranger to featuring more adult-related content as Marvel Hulu Originals such as Hit Monkey, Marvel’s MODOK, Marvel’s Runaways, and even Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger (formerly under Freeform) feature themes that may not be suited for the Disney Plus audience. Overall, what it comes down to in the future of the characters and what Disney/Marvel wants to do with them is simply, “We’ll just wait and see.”
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