Netflix Cans The Punisher And Jessica Jones, Surprising No One
Hopefully all of you fans of The Punisher enjoyed its second season, because that's the last one you're getting out of Netflix. The streaming service cancelled both The Punisher and Jessica Jones today, which means that its Marvel purge is now complete. Of course, we all had a feeling this was going to happen, as Netflix's previous cancellations of other Marvel shows – Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and most notably Daredevil – didn't bode well for The Punisher and Jessica Jones.
Of those shows, Jessica Jones is still the only one in active development. Netflix is currently working on Jessica Jones season 3, and despite cancellation, that final season will still premiere at some point this year. It's a little strange that it would cancel Jessica Jones while its third season is still in development, but it seems the company has decided to drop all pretense and give us the announcement we all knew was coming anyway.
Netflix confirmed both of these cancellations in a statement to Deadline today. It's still unclear why Netflix has decided to cancel its Marvel shows, as the company hasn't given us an official reason. It's probably safe to assume, however, that these cancellations have something to do with the impending launch of Disney+, which is lift off before the end of the year.
Marvel fans who are sad to see these shows go have been given a few glimmers of hope that they might live on. Back in December, Disney chairman of direct-to-consumer and international offers Kevin Mayer said that a Disney+ revival for these cancelled shows is a "possibility," and today, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb suggested that this may not be the end in a farewell letter of sorts to fans.
"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," Loeb wrote. Does that mean these shows could indeed find a new home with Disney+? Nothing that's been said so far can be considered confirmation, but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed anyway.