How the DefendersVerse Upsets the Disney+ Status Quo

At midnight Monday, Netflix removed each of the Defenders-adjacent shows from its streaming platform. As revealed last month, Disney had regained control over the shows, and Netflix's license was set to expire at the end of February. Now that the calendar has flipped to March, Disney has shocked fans by revealing the shows will be hitting Disney+ on March 16th. It had previously been suggested the shows were heading to Disney+ in markets where Star was on the service, leading some to assume the shows would go under that brand, given the adult nature of the former Netflix world.

Instead, the TV-MA shows will be available to stream alongside the rest of the Marvel content on the service, given the parental controls on your profile allows the streaming of adult content. The change is one being applauded by fans of the show for a pretty good reason, it upsets the entire status quo for Disney+.

When Disney+ first launched nearly three years ago, executives with the Mouse stood strong on the idea the platform would only include family-friendly content. Given that Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) decapitates a guy with a car door in one series and mind-controlled people dismember others and blend them down the garbage disposal in Jessica Jones, the DefendersVerse doesn't quite abide by the conventions of family-friendly programming.

Despite the fact Disney also owns the majority of Hulu,—where other Marvel-based adult content such as Helstrom and MODOK resides, mind you—the latest batch of Disney executives have opted to bring the Marvel shows to the company's flagship service. That's something new Disney chief Bob Chapek has been pretty candid about doing.

With talk of Moon Knight being a "brutal" show, it stands to reason the addition of the DefendersVerse will allow content creators—see Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm—to push the boundaries of what's typically seen in traditional Marvel and Star Wars fare. Maybe not full-blown R-rated Deadpool content, but at least more adult themes and the like.

Beyond original content, the addition of the Defenders shows also signals the platform's ability to land the licenses to other adult Marvel content like Wesley Snipes' Blade trilogy, the Ghost Rider duology, and Logan. The addition of the shows is the dawn of a new Disney+ age, you best believe that.

All DefendersVerse shows will now be available to stream on Disney+ beginning March 16th.

What other Defenders characters would you like to see join the team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!