Marvel has big plans for the future, including the “return” of the live action Defenders Verse characters who had their series on Netflix.
Within months, characters like Daredevil played by Charlie Cox and Punisher by Jon Bernthal will be back in the House of Ideas, and may be used in other properties within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Recent reports indicate that Iron Fist and Luke Cage are the next to have a reboot of their own, apparently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Netflix canceled the Iron Fist and Luke Cage shows, starring Finn Jones and Mike Colter, on October 12, 2018, sparking a chain reaction that would eventually lead to the cancellation of all Marvel series developed by the streaming platform.
The Daredevil series was subsequently canceled on November 29 after a critically acclaimed third season, and both The Punisher and Jessica Jones were sent to the chopping block on February 18, 2019.
Once the superhero series were canceled, news began to emerge of a clause in the contract between Netflix and Marvel Entertainment that prohibited the latter from using any characters introduced in the streaming platform’s shows for a period of two calendar years thereafter since the programs hit the market.
While Disney and Marvel still owned the live action rights to the characters, this was not a Sony or 20th Century Fox setting, which were reportedly prohibited from using due to contractual obligations.
It certainly makes sense from a business standpoint, after all: Netflix wanted to make sure that as many fans as possible saw the series before Marvel Studios took on the characters, featuring them on other film franchises and properties.
Now in 2020, two full years after the DefendersVerse began caceling shows, Marvel Studios could hypothetically start using those characters and developing new shows and movies in a matter of weeks.
Iron Fist and Luke Cage canceled on October 12, 2018, that means we could be a month away from seeing new Marvel projects with both characters.
It should be noted that this news was never confirmed by Marvel Studios or Netflix, but several actors involved in the productions have spoken of the existence of such a clause that prohibits their characters from going elsewhere.
