Netflix Cancels 'The Punisher' and 'Jessica Jones'
Marvel and Netflix have officially parted ways: The streaming service has canceled its remaining two Marvel series, "The Punisher" and "Jessica Jones."
Deadline reports that Netflix decided to put those series to rest, ending its marquee partnership with the comics powerhouse. Other Marvel series that were previously canceled by the streaming giant include "Daredevil," "Luke Cage," and "Iron Fist."
In a statement released to Deadline, Netflix confirmed the most recent cancellations. It also said that the upcoming third season of "Jessica Jones" would still air on the streaming service as planned.
The statement said:
“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” Netflix confirmed today to Deadline. “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,” the streamer added.
“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,” Netflix also made official this President’s Day. “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.”
Marvel released its own statement about the news, striking a bittersweet tone that also teased a possible continuation for some of its characters -- perhaps on the upcoming Disney+? The statement said:
"It had never been done before. Four separate television series, each with different super-talented showrunners, writers, directors, cast and crew, coming out months apart and then …they would meet in a single event series all set in the heart of New York City. We called them The Defenders.
And together we were thrilled by stories of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and even the Punisher joined in! They said it couldn’t be done.But Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes. Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft.
We loved each and every minute of it.
And we did it all for you — the fans — who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.
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…!"
Stay tuned to see if any of these series make the switch to Disney's new service.
[via: Deadline]