Netflix Marvel Heroes Reportedly Can’t Appear Anywhere Else For 2 Years After Cancellation

Many Marvel fans were shocked to learn Netflix cancelled Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist just after their new seasons premiered on the streaming service, though there was hope they’d continue on Disney+ or Hulu. While that’s still a possibility, don’t expect it to happen for a few years.

According to report from Variety, the deal between Marvel Television and Netflix has a clause that stipulates characters from these shows cannot appear on any non-Netflix series or film until two years after their cancellations. This means the earliest we could get a new Daredevil series with Charlie Cox or someone else in the role would be the end of 2020.

The report notes that the third season of Jessica Jones will not premiere until 2019. While that series cancellation is not guaranteed, it seems likely to follow the fate of the other popular Marvel Television series on Netflix. This would peg the earliest return for Krysten Ritter’s hard-drinking private eye for the year 2021.

So even if Disney+ or Hulu did want to rush up another round of The Defenders, they’d either have to do it without Jessica Jones in 2020 or wait until the character becomes available again in 2021.

The report notes that The Punisher falls under a different deal than the original Defenders shows; Netflix and Marvel Television first announced the crossover series as part of a five-series order, while The Punisher came later after those plans came to fruition. Given the nature of that agreement, it’s unclear if The Punisher will be cancelled after the upcoming second season premieres in January 2019, nor if there’s a similar two-year clause in that contract as well.

A couple weeks after Netflix announced the cancellation of Daredevil, series star Charlie Cox opened up about the shocking decision in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“A lot of us really expected to keep going, and I certainly did,” said Cox. “The truth is, I felt like we had a lot of stories to tell, and although I understand [the cancellation], I’m very saddened by that. It’s just how business works. But also, these characters mean a lot to people. It’s weird to think there’s a chance I won’t be playing Matt Murdock ever again. That’s a bizarre feeling, because that character has been such a huge part of my life for the last four and a half years.”

There’s no word yet on if Marvel or Disney intends to revive these series or reboot them entirely, and it now appears as if we will have to wait a couple years to find out.