New Report Says 'The Defenders' Characters Can't Appear Anywhere Else 2 Years After Cancellation

Just recently we finally found out when The Punisher‘s second season would be released but it seems that is not the only Netflix-related piece of info we are getting today. It seems some contractual aspects of the various The Defenders series have been released online, as no project involving these characters can be developed for another two years after the announcement of their cancellation. This means we would not see any new incarnations or (hopefully) returning characters until 2020 at the earliest for at least Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Daredevil. The Punisher and Jessica Jones will have to wait a bit longer, as their shows do not air until early to mid-2019. They do point out that Punisher was not involved in the original deal but could indirectly be involved due to the introduction of the character through the second season of Daredevil.

At first glance, this seems rather problematic, as it means we will most likely not see a continuation of any of these shows for quite some time. A rather depressing aspect that Variety’s article points out. Yet, the contract seems to only say “appearing” in any non-Netflix series or even film. As such, the shows could have a year hiatus only to start productions sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. That way, they would produce the show until the contractual regulation is over. There is the question if they are even allowed to announce any new incarnation until then. It would explain why the shows have a general “it’s not over” attitude after cancellation and why there was always a mention of them returning at some point. We analyzed the rather bizarre situation of having these high-profile shows being canceled on Netflix, so be sure to check it out. Sadly, we won’t know what will happen until Marvel makes any official announcements.

What do you think? Do you think this will stop Marvel from producing any shows?

Source: Variety