A Marvel superhero move – former Netflix dramas shift to Disney +
Former Netlix shows heads to Disney Plus
Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have a new home – just not in the place a lot of people expected.
As reported here last week, Marvel’s six series on Netflix – Daredevil, The Defenders, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher were leaving the service on February 28 as rights to the series reverted to Marvel parent Disney. An online fan site leaked the news all six were headed to Disney +, but only in Canada, but framed in a clickbaiting sort-of-way to lead people to believe the programs were heading to Disney + in the United States.
On Tuesday, the news became official – all six shows, plus former ABC series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are indeed heading to Disney + on March 16.
The countdown is on. Marvel's Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, The Punisher, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. start streaming March 16 on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/sfoT61XilS
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) March 1, 2022
There was little incentive to keep the shows on Netflix, as all six were canceled by the streamer shortly after Disney announced the launch of its own streaming service, which features a Marvel portal full of television shows and movies (excluding Spider-Man.) Since then, Marvel has introduced numerous hit shows including Wandavision, Loki, Hawkeye (not related to the 1994 Lee Horsley/Lynda Carter syndication action hour of the same name), and others. Of course, the Netflix logos appearing before and after the shows are being scrubbed out with their move to Disney +.
There was speculation the shows might wind up at sister streamer Hulu given the mature ratings of the Marvel shows, with the vast majority of the shows’ episodes rated TV-MA. But at the end of the day, it made sense to put them on Disney + in the Marvel portal, even though the streamer is marketed as family-friendly. As a result, Disney will be updating their parental control settings for American subscribers to keep kids away from the violent and raunchy material of the shows, similar to what’s being done internationally.
While there are no current plans to revive any of the shows, there is always the possibility to do so in the future. Already, Daredevil’s Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have appeared in other Marvel works in Spiderman: No Way Home and Hawkeye, respectively in character as a ban Netflix imposed on the characters being used lapsed.
Meanwhile, off-network series S.H.I.E.L.D arrives in the Marvel portal on the same date with an existing off-network series already on the streamer, Agent Carter. While Carter lasted two seasons, S.H.I.E.L.D. ran for seven years on ABC, benefitting from the vertical integration the show was able to enjoy as the series ratings’ declined significantly after a hot start. S.H.I.E.L.D. also had a short-lived off-network syndicated run.
Despite being in the same Marvel Cinematic Universe, neither S.H.I.E.L.D or Carter had any crossovers with the now-former Netflix programs.
[Editor’s note: An earlier post incorrectly stated the number of seasons Agent Carter ran. – T.H.]