Save Daredevil: Disney+ and Hulu Merger Is Best Possible Situation for Marvel’s Cancelled Netflix Shows

Friday afternoon, word started to spread online of an impending merger between Disney+ and Hulu, two of Disney’s most popular assets in the year 2020. As we’ve seen with this week’s massive movie news from WarnerMedia, the future of streaming is stronger than ever before, and it only makes sense the House of Mouse would choose to consolidate its streaming platforms under one umbrella. Though such a merger means plenty for both Disney and the world of streaming as a whole, it’s a particularly perfect move for fans of Daredevil and Marvel’s other shows that once aired on Netflix — the same fans that hope to see those shows continue at some point in the future.

There’s no secret the shows on Netflix — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage — were Marvel’s first major present-day foray into the world of adult-oriented programming. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe as popular as ever, Marvel Television jumped in headfirst to R-rated shows. Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) shoots on-average 20 people an episode, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) decapitates someone with a car door, and Kilgrave (Dave Tennant) forces people to chop someone’s arms up with a garbage disposal.

Because of that, it was popular amongst fans — namely, the #SaveDaredevil crew — for Cox’s Daredevil to land on Hulu as opposed to Disney+ so the darker and more sinister tones could continue. After all, Disney+ executives have been adamant the service would only be home to content that’s safe for consumption by the entire family.

Should Hulu and Disney+ become one and the same, that now all but guarantees Disney+ will adjust its programming to allow for R-rated adult content. Hulu is currently home to a massive streaming deal “FX on Hulu,” which sees all of the network’s originals head to the service. The branding effort encapsulates programs like Fargo, Devs, Archer, and American Horror Story — shows created specifically for those other than children.

Disney+’s ability to add content geared towards adults will set off a chain reaction that assuredly finds a Daredevil remake getting a significantly higher budget than what it received from Netflix. While on the independently-owned service, the streamer afforded the first season of Daredevil around $4 million per episode or approximately $52 million for the 13-episode season.

According to reports last year, Marvel Studios’ shows on Disney+ will end up receiving upwards of $25 million per episode, or over six times of the Marvel Television’s DefendersVerse counterparts. Though self-explanatory in and of itself, a larger budget would afford series A-list talent, a massive effects budget, and it would finally allow Danny Rand would be able to fight Shou-Lao the Undying on-screen. Better yet, a bigger budget also means we might see Ol’ Hornhead come toe-to-toe with Stilt-Man or The Hand’s Beast.

It also means any remakes — Daredevil, Punisher, Iron Fist, et al — will be run by people hired by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige himself, meaning there won’t be any Twitter debates as to whether or not the shows are actually part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every Feige touches is canon, don’t you know?

Suffice to say, an impending merger of Disney+ and Hulu is massive, not only for fans of the cancelled Marvel Netflix shows but for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

All three seasons of Daredevil, in addition to the others DefendersVerse shows, are now streaming on Netflix.

Which of the Marvel Netflix shows do you hope to see return first? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

Cover photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images