Last week it was confirmed that Netflix has decided to cancel The Punisher and Jessica Jones, bringing to an end the streaming service’s partnership with Marvel which has also brought us Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the crossover limited series The Defenders.
Since the first of the cancellations last year, there’s been a lot of rumour and speculation about the situation, with some assuming that Disney and Marvel were responsible (in an effort to bring the shows to the upcoming Disney+ streaming platform), and others pointing towards Netflix being the one to make the call.
Well, according to a report from THR, the decision to cancel the Marvel shows was Netflix’s, and the reasons were the costs associated with the series, as well as a lack of any kind of ownership stake.
Apparently, Disney own all of the Marvel shows in their outright (along with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cloak and Dagger, Runaways, The Gifted and Legion), and with Netflix having to pay a hefty license fee for each show, not to mention steep production and marketing costs, the streaming service felt there was little value in producing more.
Throw in a significant drop in audience across the seasons for each show, and it’s perhaps understandable why Netflix felt it was time to call it a day – although of course, that’s little consolation for fans of Marvel’s street-level heroes.
