‘Luke Cage’ Cancelled at Netflix, No Season 3 Coming

A week after the cancellation of Iron Fist, and on the same day that the third season of Daredevil premiered, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets even smaller on Netflix.

A new report from Deadline indicates that Luke Cage is not being renewed for a third season, effectively cancelling the series at Netflix.

“Unfortunately, Marvel’s Luke Cage will not return for a third season,” said a joint statement issued by Marvel and Netflix. “Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is grateful to the dedicated showrunner, writers, cast and crew who brought Harlem’s Hero to life for the past two seasons, and to all the fans who have supported the series.”

The writing is on the wall that this could be the beginning of the end between Marvel and Netflix, with only Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher remaining at the streaming service.

Marvel’s parent company Disney is expected to launch its own streaming service next year, and has been revealed to be working on new original series from Marvel Studios featuring characters like Scarlet Witch and Loki.

There is no word yet on if Netflix will plan on making a Heroes for Hire series to fill the gap, bringing Luke Cage and Iron Fist back to screens.

As Deadline reports, the cancellation of Luke Cage is a bit of a surprise considering series showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker had started putting together his writers room, with star Mike Colter also teasing plans for Season 3.

Both Variety and Deadline report that there were talks for new episodes of Luke Cage, but that they ultimately fell through as Netflix concluded it’s not feasible. Unfortunately, a deal could not be reached.

The third season of Daredevil just debuted on Netflix to a ton of critical acclaim. The Punisher recently wrapped filming on the second season, with a release date for the new episodes likely to be announced in the coming month. Production is currently underway on Jessica Jones Season 3, which could also serve as the last episodes of that series.

Jessica Jones showrunner Melissa Rosenberg is exiting the series after the upcoming season. Rosenberg recently signed a major deal to develop new projects for Warner Bros. Television, and will pivot to those duties once her obligation to Netflix is fulfilled.

The Defenders is also unlikely to return, as both Netflix and Marvel TV brass have not sounded hopeful about new episodes. 

With Disney creating a competitor for Netflix, it seems unlikely that the streaming platform will commit to any new series or that Marvel Television will try to give them one, but there is a chance that the current series could continue. Daredevil remains one of the most popular of all the shows and the new season has received a ton of buzz. Time will tell of fans will get to see a fourth season of Daredevil.