The partnership between Marvel TV and Netflix is officially wrapping up. A few weeks after the premiere of the second season of Marvel’s The Punisher, it has been announced that the series will not continue for a third season. In addition, although Marvel’s Jessica Jones will return for a third season this year (it is currently in production), the show will not continue past that.
The Marvel TV universe on Netflix started with Daredevil back in 2015 and went on to spawn four other series plus a joint season of The Defenders, bringing several classic Marvel characters to life.
In a statement, Netflix announced the ending of both shows, saying:
“[The Punisher] 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.
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 recognized 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.”
Since the announcement of Disney’s forthcoming streaming platform, Disney+, the fate of all the Marvel shows has been up in the air, that is until last fall when the cancellation announcements started pouring in. It began with Iron Fist and was followed by Luke Cage and Daredevil despite fan and critical acclaim for all three shows.
After the announcement broke regarding The Punisher, Jon Bernthal took to his Instagram to express his gratitude towards the fans and thank “the men and women of the Armed Services and law enforcement community who Frank means so much to,” as well as the soldiers who trained him for the role. Ben Barnes, who played Billy Russo, also thanked the fans on his Instagram.
With this news, the inherent question is, “Will these shows continue on at Disney+?” That has never been confirmed, so one can only assume that the characters in these adaptations, in this moment in time, will be put to rest. The characters are all part of the Marvel roster owned by Disney, so a complete reboot of some or all of them might be a possibility down the line.
Elsewhere, with the acquisition of Hulu as a part of the Disney and FOX merger, the Marvel TV team is already moving forward with four animated shows about comicbook characters. Just recently, the company announced new shows starring Howard the Duck, M.O.D.O.K., and more.
Just days before the Netflix cancellation announcement, Senior Vice President of Originals at Hulu Craig Erwich spoke about their upcoming collaboration with Marvel, their current collaboration in the TV show Runaways, and some possibilities for the future. In regard to potentially taking on new characters, he added:
“Marvel has a ton of titles we’d be interested in. It kind of just depends on when they’re ready, [and] who, most importantly, is going to be behind these things.”
Speculation is that a safer bet for the continuation of these shows would be on Hulu, but that is still just wishful thinking!