MARVEL is bringing four new live-action shows to Netflix leading to a "Defenders event" (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

The tricky thing is that Matt's basically wearing the Iron Fist's mask.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The thing that sucks about Marvel and Netflix's partnership ending so acrimoniously is that Netflix is basically holding this pocket of the Marvel Cinematic Universe hostage: These shows are too adult for the Disney+ platform, and no other platform is going to want to pick up series where Netflix has exclusive rights to the earlier seasons.

Hopefully Marvel will take a page from the Disney Channel playbook and move forward in a slightly tweaked version: Instead of "Daredevil" Season 4, we get "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear" Season 1 that coincidentally picks up shortly after "Daredevil" Season 3 left off. Instead of "Luke Cage" Season 3 and "Iron Fist" Season 3, we get "Heroes for Hire" Season 1 (starring Mike Colter and Finn Jones) and "Daughters of the Dragon" Season 1 (starring Jessica Henwick and Simone Missick). Instead of "Jessica Jones" Season 4, we get "Alias Investigations" Season 1. And so on.

 

[Josh Dial]

These shows are too adult for the Disney+ platform, and no other platform is going to want to pick up series where Netflix has exclusive rights to the earlier seasons.

This was dealt with in the original announcement for the Disney+ service. Disney+ will handle content up to PG-13, and HULU will handle R (and ESPN will do sports or something--I don't care). Also, my understanding is that Netflix does not have exclusive rights to the earlier seasons; it's a complicated set up, but Disney has ensured they can air those season elsewhere, if they wish.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Also, my understanding is that Netflix does not have exclusive rights to the earlier seasons; it's a complicated set up, but Disney has ensured they can air those season elsewhere, if they wish.

That would be truly surprising to me. I just can't imagine Netflix putting up as much money as it did for these shows if it didn't have an exclusive arrangement for the streaming space.

 

[DaveF]

The thing that sucks about Marvel and Netflix's partnership ending so acrimoniously

Acrimoniously? How so? Is this being reported ; I’m not up on the news and hadn’t read rumors or etc that it was going badly with Netflix.

 

[Josh Dial]

That would be truly surprising to me. I just can't imagine Netflix putting up as much money as it did for these shows if it didn't have an exclusive arrangement for the streaming space.

I haven't seen the Netflix/Disney suite of agreements myself, but I have seen similar agreements in my legal travels. The terms are often surprising. Between the agreements and the various other mechanisms available, the party with the greater bargaining power usually both gets what it wants now and protects its future interests.

Marvel's legal and creative teams have been working closely over the last decade to consolidate their IPs and products (past, present, and future). The launch of Disney+ is not a coincidence. They want horizontal integration across all their characters and "universes", and vertical integration across every platform (even if it means jumping headfirst into a new space like streaming).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Disney prevented from using Marvel characters from Netflix series in any non-Netflix productions for two years after cancellation

That means we won't be seeing Daredevil, Luke, or Iron Fist again in live action until 2020 at the earliest -- and won't see Jessica Jones again until 2021 at the earliest.

Since "The Punisher" wasn't part of that original deal, it's unknown whether that show is subject to the same restrictions.

 

[Sam Favate]

This deal keeps getting worse.

 

[Josh Dial]

Disney prevented from using Marvel characters from Netflix series in any non-Netflix productions for two years after cancellation

That means we won't be seeing Daredevil, Luke, or Iron Fist again in live action until 2020 at the earliest -- and won't see Jessica Jones again until 2021 at the earliest.

Since "The Punisher" wasn't part of that original deal, it's unknown whether that show is subject to the same restrictions.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't take what these "sources" say as the gospel unless those sources are lawyers (they aren't). Not to put too fine a point on it, but business people and laypersons alike suck at reading contracts, and suck even more at explaining them in lay terms. I'm a litigator who mostly argues cases on complex commercial contracts, and I can tell you that parties frequently disagree on what terms mean, and those interpretations frequently differ from what a court ultimately finds.

Here, for example, just going off the Variety piece, I would want to know a few things: What does "cancelled" mean? Is it the same as not being renewed? When does the clock start? Is it after the final episode of the final season ends or is when the showrunners are told the show isn't coming back? Can Disney pay a "penalty" and start using the characters sooner than two years after cancellation?

I would bet that the Disney and Netflix lawyers (both internal and external counsel) have read these agreements hundreds of times and still may not know with certainty the answers to these questions.

Anyway, just wanted to chime with some comments about taking what "sources" say about legal relationships with a grain of salt.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Well, there was already a 2 and a half year gap between Daredevil seasons 2 and 3.

As much as I’d love to see a follow up to season 3 as soon as possible, waiting until 2020 or early 2021 for a season 4 wouldn’t be much different that what just happened. And if they don’t continue and instead reboot, then the more time between incarnations the better.

 

[Matt Hough]

It's such a shame. Charlie Cox is brilliant casting for Daredevil, and the other cast members are also felicitously cast.

 

[Josh Dial]

Just to build on what I've said previously (don't trust all reporters "summarizing" legal rights), here's a link to a Hollywood Reporter interview with Kevin Mayer, Disney's Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer. A notable exchange:

Q: Would you consider reviving the Marvel shows that Netflix canceled?

A: They are very high-quality shows. We haven't yet discussed that, but I would say that's a possibility.

 

[Sam Favate]

The Defenders Shows on Disney+? Not So Fast…

https://mcucosmic.com/2018/12/18/the-defenders-shows-on-disney-not-so-fast/

The cancelled Netflix series have quite a few hurdles to go through before they could appear on Disney’s streaming service, the biggest is the two-year moratorium on using those characters following the series cancellation that’s part of the contract with Netflix. The casts can’t sit around without taking jobs for two years while they wait for that to expire. The other one is the more “family friendly” PG-13 tone that Disney+ will take, shows like Jessica Jones and The Punisher won’t fit in with that.

 

[Josh Dial]

My post above is basically a direct comment on that, Sam. Again, my personal takeaway is to take with a large grain of salt anything any non-lawyer says about what a party can or cannot due under a contract. This is especially true with web pieces (and even more so with that particular author/website!).

 

[Sam Favate]

No one would like these show to end up intact on Disney+ more than me. I think we should be cautious about getting our hopes up though.

 

[Josh Dial]

This was dealt with in the original announcement for the Disney+ service. Disney+ will handle content up to PG-13, and HULU will handle R (and ESPN will do sports or something--I don't care). Also, my understanding is that Netflix does not have exclusive rights to the earlier seasons; it's a complicated set up, but Disney has ensured they can air those season elsewhere, if they wish.

As a follow up to my earlier post, here's a link to TheWrap's interview with Craig Erwich at Hulu. Some interesting tidbits (nothing explicitly stated, of course) about Disney's plans for Hulu. It seems Disney is committed to moving forward with their plan to have Hulu handle the R-rated (or otherwise more "adult") content.

 

[Sam Favate]

Jeph Loeb Says He Won't Be Surprised if Cancelled Marvel-Netflix Shows Get Revived

https://mcuexchange.com/jeph-loeb-n...40BmYkzjJTcCTsF4Q_3Hfn1vSEYTDoROT86dIr-ODYR-M

 

[Josh Dial]

Here's a link to the full interview with Jeph Loeb, from the original source. The full interview has some good general commentary on the industry: "There is stuff going on all the time. I think it’s also realistic to think when you have 11, 12, 14 shows that some of them are going to rest".

 

[Sean Bryan]

Netflix officially drops the axe on both Punisher and Jessica Jones.

"Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix," Netflix confirmed. "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."

 

[Sam Favate]

In his full statement, Loeb thanks fans of the shows and says “to be continued!”

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...!

https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/a-letter-to-marvel-television-fans-from-jeph-loeb

Perhaps we’ll hear more after Jessica Jones ‘ third season airs. BTW, JJ is said to wrap things up in its finale, something the other shows weren’t able to do.

Coverage from EW: https://ew.com/tv/2019/02/18/marvel-jessica-jones-punisher-canceled-netflix/