And with that, the Marvel/Netflix collaborations are officially over. Though one more season has yet to air, both Jessica Jones and Punisher were officially canceled by Netflix today (who solely has the power to cancel these collaborations), thus ending the age of the Defenders. It started out predictably with the cancelation of Iron Fist, the collaborations “weakest link.” But then came the shock of Luke Cage being canceled, then Daredevil after arguably its best season. And now, Jessica Jones and Punisher have joined them.
Fans won’t be shocked by this given all that’s happened, but now, we turn to hope that the shows will be reborn on the impending arrival of Disney+, though WHEN exactly that’ll happen in regards to the “revival” is up for debate given the nature of the Marvel Netflix contract.
In response to the cancelation, the head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb, write a “letter” to fans. Here is what it says:
“It had never been done before.
Four separate television series, each with different super-talented showrunners, writers, directors, cast and crew, coming out months apart and then…
…they would meet in a single event series all set in the heart of New York City. We called them The Defenders.
And together we were thrilled by stories of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and even the Punisher joined in!
They said it couldn’t be done.
But Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes. Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft. We loved each and every minute of it. And we did it all for you — the fans — who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.
So, Thank You!
On behalf of everyone at Marvel Television, we couldn’t be more proud or more grateful to our audience. Our Network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that. As Matthew Murdock’s Dad once said, “The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up.”
To be continued…!”
To be clear, the final episodes of the Jessica Jones series will arrive on Netflix sometime this year.
