Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Canceled After Three Seasons
And then ... there was one Defender left standing.
First Netflix canceled Iron Fist. Then, it was lights out for Luke Cage. Now Netflix has announced that Daredevil has concluded its run on the streaming service after three seasons and 39 episodes. Jessica Jones is now the last of the four solo series that Netflix launched in 2015 that combined to form one season of The Defenders. It’s getting mighty lonely in Hell’s Kitchen.
A Netflix spokesman gave this statement to Variety:
Marvel’s Daredevil will not return for a fourth season on Netflix. We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We’re thankful to showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and incredible cast including Charlie Cox as Daredevil himself, and we’re grateful to the fans who have supported the show over the years. While the series on Netflix has ended, the three existing seasons will remain on the service for years to come, while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel.
Future projects, eh? That definitely won’t fuel any speculation.
Daredevil, starring Charlie Cox as the Man Without Fear, was the first of Netflix’s Defenders series. As one of the first TV shows set in the MCU, its first season got a ton of buzz. And while a second season featuring the Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal) got some attention, the series never quite took off in the way Netflix hoped. (And after a few vague hints early on, there was almost no connection to Marvel’s movies.) The Defenders series itself was a disappointment, and since then Netflix’s Marvel universe has started to feel awfully quiet.
The fact that Disney and Marvel are launching their own streaming service next year has made these Netflix series lame ducks. It’s almost certain that future Marvel shows (like the upcoming Loki series with Tom Hiddleston) will all debut there, rather than on Netflix or any other streaming site. A third season of Jessica Jones is expected but that could be the last line of defense for The Defenders.
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