Hoping for ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Jessica Jones’ Revivals? It’s Going to Take Longer Than Just 2 Years
Zack Sharf
Netflix broke the hearts of comic book fans when it pulled the plug on all of its Marvel superhero shows, including “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “The Punisher,” “Luke Cage,” and “Iron Fist.” News broke last December (via Variety) that due to contractual reasons Disney would not be able to revive these series until two years after their cancellation, but IndieWire learned at the “Avengers: Endgame” premiere it’s going to be much longer than two years until fans see Daredevil again either on film or in a series on new streaming platform Disney+.
According to a production executive, Disney has been warned by lawyers not to even think about developing new content featuring the characters of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher until the two-year mark. The clarification is an important once, as it means Disney probably won’t be spending time during the next two years working on new material with these characters to launch new series in 2020. If Disney can’t even begin developing a new Daredevil series until 2020, then it’s going to take much longer than just two years for the character to return to the big or small screen. Another option is Disney does not revive the superheroes at all.
“Daredevil” released its third and now final season last October on Netflix. The streaming giant canceled the series at the end of November, which came as a big shock to fans. While Netflix canceled “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage” shortly after “Daredevil” Season 3 premiered, neither of those shows had the kind of following that “Daredevil” did. The “Daredevil” series was Netflix and Marvel’s flagship and pulling the plug (especially after a creative bump in Season 3) did not bode well for “Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher,” both of which were canceled earlier this year. The third season of “Jessica Jones” will still air on Netflix later this year. The 2019 cancellations of “Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher” means development would not begin on new series for these characters until 2021.
Disney is launching its own streaming service in November. Officially titled Disney+, the service is set to include several new superhero shows that have more direct connections to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shows include “WandaVision,” starring Elisabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as the Scarlet Witch and Vision, “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, and an untitled Loki series starring Tom Hiddleston.
Additional reporting by Anne Thompson.
