Luke Cage and Iron Fist are over. Is the Netflix Marvel verse finished?

Netflix canceled The Marvel Luke cage Friday, just a week after the cancellation Marvel & # 39; s Iron Fist. With new seasons of Jessica Jones and The punisher in preparation, a new start of season 3 for Daredevil, and no plans to resurrect The defenders, could that be the end of the revolutionary TV partnership between Netflix and Marvel?

Daredevil of Marvel The first appearance on Netflix in spring 2015 surprised TV critics and comic fans. The words "dark" and "gritty" were repeated – aesthetic choreography and fierce struggle jostled each other to surprise viewers in the best way. Jessica Jones debuts this fall, the first female super-woman tops a Marvel or DC screen property, before Super Girl, Wonder Woman, or Captain Marvel has entered our lives.

Bring Jessica Jones and give her go-ahead Luke Cage for the fall of 2016, install the Netflix / Marvel universe; Like the Marvel film universe, these heroes would have their own properties, their stories of origin, their own villains, their demons and their values. But as for the MCU, there was a larger plan in place, the last element of which came in 2017 with The defenders.

Perhaps the flood of Netflix / Marvel shows that during this period, a settlement was created for the franchise. We did an average of three shows a year, which is not a trivial commitment for a viewer: it's one thing to receive so many movies in one year, but another to digest almost 40 episodes of televised dramas.

Consider that Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant and the wasp all have been released in theaters in the last 12 months. This corresponds to less than a season of a Marvel property on Netflix, but it is four different properties and a massive crossover. It's all the raging train that stops in the station and the party at the end, while taking so much time for a Netflix series will not let you down.

Image: Sarah Shatz / Netflix

This has also been said since Jessica JonesThe first season of 13 episodes is just too long for these shows. Luke Cage Season 1 experienced a lot of difficulties in the back half, just like Daredevil Season 2 without the Punisher. Iron fist remains an outlier; many were so shocked by the premise and problematic laundering that they did not even bother, or could not embark with the character even after trying. Iron Fist himself comes out like a sore thumb The defenders, petulant and important but inexplicably the hill on which they are supposed to fight and die.

Ironically, Luke CageThe Iron Fist crossover was one of the strongest episodes of the season, and certainly the nicest character Danny Rand has ever known. It should be asked whether the logical consequence of defenders It was not just the transition from the Netflix / Marvel universe to cross-programs instead of standalone offerings, no matter how difficult they are to plan and execute.

The Iron Fist / Luke Cage alliance strengthened both characters in a way that The defenders should have – indeed, in a way that defenders reinforced Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock. The new Netflix / Marvel shows always feel pressed for the rhythm and detail of Daredevil and Jessica JonesIt is therefore possible that Netflix simply canceled the weakest efforts, even though solving them was a viable option.

There's also the imminent specter of Disney's standalone streaming service, which is ready to compete directly with Netflix, Hulu, and more. Disney has enough money to keep several superhero dramas afloat (thanks again, MCU!) And the rights of almost all Marvel characters.

With two drastic cancellations so close together, we can not help but examine the implications for the broader Netflix / Marvel universe. In the end, all these shows would end one day and are too expensive and detailed to be aired for seven seasons as a networked comedy. It may be the beginning of the end, but maybe the end has always been close at that time. In the meantime, we suggest Daredevil Season 3, now streaming on Netflix.