The Marvel cull continues
Marvel’s The Punisher and Jessica Jones have been cancelled by Netflix, following on from the other standalone TV shows in the Marvel TV Universe – Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.
Despite the fact that season two is still fresh in the memory of fans, Deadline have reported that there will be no season three of the Jon Bernthal-led vigilante series.
Season three of Jessica Jones meanwhile has already been completed but it’s set to be the last time that we see the Krysten Ritter-led show on the streaming giant.
“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” confirmed Netflix via a statement to Deadline.
“Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.”
The statement adds: “In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones.
“We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognised by the Peabody Awards among many others.
“We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning.”
After the recent decisions to axe the other Marvel shows, the prospects were bleak for Jessica Jones and The Punisher, however, the news is now official.
Bernthal took to social media this morning to offer a cryptic farewell.
“To all who have served. All who know loss. All who love and understand Frank and his pain. It has been an honour to walk in his boots,” he said.
“I’m endlessly grateful to the comic fans and the men and women of the Armed Services and law enforcement community who Frank means so much to.
“Thank you to the USMC and all the wonderful soldiers who trained me. Go Hard. Be safe.”
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Hulu’s senior vice president of originals, Craig Erwich, said that they’d be very interested in picking up some of the Marvel TV content – they already produce one live-actions series, The Runaways.
“Marvel has a ton of titles we’d be interested in. It kind of just depends on when they’re ready,” Erwich added.
Okay, why does Hulu matter?
Well, it’s very likely that any new and old Marvel content will be a big part of the upcoming Disney+ streaming service and Hulu is about to be owned by Disney.
At present, Disney already owns a 30 per cent stake in the company but when ‘The House of Mouse’ closes its expected $52.4 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets, it’ll buy up Fox’s 30 per cent share.
Essentially, Disney will end up with a 60 per cent majority of Hulu while shareholder Comcast will retain its 30 per cent, and AT&T’s WarnerMedia will own 10 per cent.
However, there’s also a widely-reported clause that any Netflix show can’t appear in any non-Netflix film or series within two years after cancellation.
Basically, the Marvel TV Universe isn’t 100 per cent dead but it might take some time in coming back to life.
