The last of Netflix’s Marvel shows are officially coming to an end.
As has long been expected, The Punisher has been cancelled after the recent second season and the upcoming third season of Jessica Jones will be its last, Netflix confirmed earlier today, as broken by Variety.
“Marvel’s ‘The Punisher’ will not return for a third season on Netflix,” Netflix said in a statement. “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.”
Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb released a letter to fans shortly after news broke, thanking the viewers and saying, in part, “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.”
Of course the news is hardly a surprise. Luke Cage and Iron Fist were cancelled back in October and Daredevil, the first of the partnership and considered the best by many, was cancelled in December, shortly after its third season had aired despite being very well received.
The decision comes as Disney prepares to launch its own rival service, Disney+, and that project is already lining up several high-profile projects, including series based on Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Loki, Scarlet Witch and Falcon, in addition to the upcoming Star Wars show; The Mandalorian. It will also be the exclusive home of all Disney content going forward.
Disney+, however, shouldn’t give fans much hope that the Defenders will fight on anytime soon. It was revealed last year that the original deal for the Marvel properties prevents the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix property for at least two years after their cancellation. So Season 3 of Jessica Jones likely is the end of the road for these characters.
A shame but not a surprise at all. Let us know your thoughts on this.