Netflix cancels 'Jessica Jones' and 'The Punisher,' ending its Marvel superhero era
Kelly Lawler
Netflix just got a little bit less super.
The streaming service confirmed Monday that it has canceled the last of its Marvel superhero offerings, "Jessica Jones" and "The Punisher." They join "Iron Fist," "Luke Cage" and "Daredevil" in the graveyard of Marvel/Netflix shows. "Jones," which has a third season that has already filmed, will air that final season later this year.
The end of the partnership of the streaming giant and the comic giant has been in the cards since the surprise cancelations of "Fist" and "Cage" last fall, and since Disney+, the forthcoming streaming service from Marvel's parent company, Disney, announced many superhero projects in development. That service will reportedly consist of family-friendly programming, a category the Netflix shows, and their limited-series teamup, "The Defenders," definitely did not fall into.
"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," Netflix said in a statement.
Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb penned an open letter to fans about the cancelations, praising the casts and crews who brought the six shows to life.
"Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft," Loeb said. "We loved each and every minute of it. And we did it all for you – the fans – who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it."
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Loeb also seemed to indicate that it was Netflix who wanted the series to end, and that the characters may live on in some way.
"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," he wrote. "As (Daredevil's) Dad once said, 'The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it's how he gets back up.' To be continued...!"
