I think around halfway through the current slate of Marvel Netflix shows we all started to feel like that perhaps things were not all sunshine and rainbows. The quality of the shows seemed to take a bit of a nose dive and with criticism came apathy and with apathy, came the threat of cancellation. Of course, we say this from a point of 20/20 hindsight sitting here having already seen not only Iron Fist and Luke Cage canceled by Netflix, but the final nail in the coffin coming in the cancellation of the flagship (and best) series Daredevil.

Since the announcement of Daredevil‘s cancellation, the talk amongst fans has revolved around what comes next, if anything for the heroes collectively referred to as The Defenders. You can find my personal take on this question in the related section below, but (spoilers) one of the avenues discussed is these shows migrating over to Disney +, the new streaming service being launched soon from Disney. My own analysis of this one possible outcome was not positive. For me, as I said in the article below, Disney + is being aimed at a PG-13 maximum and therefore family audience. I just cannot see how these shows could work within that PG-13 bracket.

RELATED: With Daredevil Being Canceled, What Does The Future Hold For Netflix’s Marvel Heroes

It now seems however, that even one of my other suggested avenue (Hulu) is also off the table — for now anyway. Disney currently have no official stakes in Hulu, but when the expected deal for Disney to buy the vast majority of Fox goes through, then Disney will theoretically gain a huge stake in that streaming service. It was in this writer’s opinion, the best bet to carry on these stories with an adult audience in mind.

Alas, according to a new report by Variety, it seems their sources are telling them that a clause existed in the deal with Netflix. This clause prevents the original 4 character shows from moving to another provider within a 2 year timescale after cancellation. This means that Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist could not appear on another platform until late 2020. It also means that Jessica Jones would be unavailable until 2021, given that Jessica Jones Season 3 is set for release early 2019 and the show has not officially been cancelled. Interestingly, Variety was informed that The Punisher is not actually included within this exclusivity deal, probably as he was fast-tracked into a show after the popularity of his character post Daredevil Season 2.

So not only will The Defenders not be coming to Disney + until at least 2020, they won’t be going anywhere else other than Netflix until 2020 either. This finality, or perhaps shall I say forced, time gap is not conducive to maintaining the crew, writing teams, directors, producers and perhaps most importantly the cast. So from a business perspective, Disney is effectively having to decide what, if anything they do with these characters come 2020 when the exclusivity deal ends. Quite frankly, they have more pressing concerns and there is simply no way to retain all the talent who work on the shows on a 2 year hiatus.

The conclusion is therefore vague and ultimately unsatisfying (sorry), we cannot possibly know what plans if any Disney are making with regards to The Defenders. If Disney do have further plans, then they are for far enough into the future that they will never reveal these plans to anyone outside a small group of people.

What do you think of this news, and more importantly, what would you like to see Disney do with the Netflix characters? Share any thoughts or ideas you have in the usual place below.

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SOURCE: Variety

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