EXCLUSIVE: The ax continues to fall on Marvel’s series at Netflix. Daredevil, which launched the Marvel universe on the streaming platform, has been canceled after three seasons. The move comes on the heels of Netflix canceling Iron Fist and Luke Cage last month.
“Marvel’s Daredevil will not return for a fourth season on Netflix,” the company said in a statement to Deadline. “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.”
The cancelation of Daredevil comes a month after its highly anticipated and acclaimed third season was released following a long hiatus. The end of the Man Without Fear, now leaves only two Marvel series on Netflix, Jessica Jones and The Punisher.
he era of Marvel TV on Netflix seems to be coming to an end at the same time Disney is revving up its own streaming service with series coming from Marvel’s film division. For now, the upcoming new seasons of Jessica Jones and The Punisher are still currently scheduled to run on Netflix as planned, sources say.
The cancellation of the series starring Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio comes amid strained relations between Netflix and Marvel TV that became painfully evident when the SVOD player abruptly pulled the plug on a third season of Luke Cage. One week after Iron Fist was pink slipped, that October 19 cancellation of Harlem’s Hero came after the nearly half scripts had been written for a Season 3 and a formal renewal had been considered a foregone conclusion.
The Marvel shows on Netflix are costly to make, even with New York’s generous tax credits, which had an extra clause added to accommodate the series. When the initial deal with Marvel/Disney was made by Netflix in 2013, the company, desperate to gain big draw content, laid out big bucks for the series – which it never owned.
Additionally, Netflix and Marvel TV have been arguing over the season orders and that may have played a role in Daredevil’s demise, as it did Luke Cage’s. Being part of the first wave of Netflix original series, all Marvel series have produced 13-episode seasons. But Netflix has since switched to seasons of 10 episodes and has been pressuring Marvel TV to switch to fewer episodes, which the company had been resisting.
There also have been creative issues, with a revolving door of showrunners on Marvel’s Netflix shows. There have been new showrunners for every season of Daredevil, with Iron Fist for and Jessica Jones’ also undergoing a showrunner change.
