Netflix just broke up with Marvel, or at least with its Marvel superhero dramas. Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil were just followed by The Punisher and Jessica Jones. Jessica Jones will still air its third season on Netflix, but it was confirmed to be the final season. At the same time, Netflix confirmed that The Punisher will not return for Season 3 on the streamer.
Jon Bernthal stars as Frank Castle on The Punisher, with Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. Both stars posted to social media after news spread that their shows would not be renewed by Netflix.
Here's how Jon Bernthal paid tribute to Marvel Comics' war veteran-turned-avenging vigilante Frank Castle, who first debuted in Daredevil Season 2 before getting his own spinoff in The Punisher:
The Punisher Season 2 just dropped on Netflix on January 18, and both fans and Jon Bernthal were hoping to continue the story in Season 3. The official show account also addressed the cancellation:
[Salutes] In terms of Jessica Jones, that show already filmed Season 3, and it will still release later in 2019 on Netflix. Here's Krysten Ritter thanking the show's team and fans ahead of the final season:
On a more positive note, Marvel Television boss Jeph Loeb posted a letter on Marvel.com to all the fans, from everyone at Marvel TV. The letter ended on this hopeful note:
...On behalf of everyone at Marvel Television, we couldn't be more proud or more grateful to our audience.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.As Matthew Murdock'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...!
How they get back up, to be continued? Jeph Loeb has made it clear that this was Netflix's decision, and not something that Marvel TV wanted. It also definitely sounds like there's more to come for at least some of the cancelled shows -- possibly on Disney+ once that streamer gets up and running at the end of 2019. (Disney owns Marvel Entertainment.) Of the five cancelled shows, it sounds like four are contractually tied up for a couple of years, but The Punisher could theoretically go straight into Season 3 production on Disney+ or Hulu or wherever else.
So it sounds like we're saying goodbye for now, but probably not forever. As we wait to see what happens from here, keep up with everything that's now airing on TV with our 2019 midseason premiere schedule.
