MCU: Why Netflix's Marvel Experiment Failed

Daredevil joins Iron Fist and Luke Cage in being cancelled, and Netflix's MCU is all but over.

Defenders Failed
Netflix

Matt Murdock may have learned to live without fear, but the thing all Netflix Marvel fans were scared of has happened: after three seasons, the plug has been pulled on Daredevil.

The writing was on the wall after Netflix decided to cancel Iron Fist and Luke Cage within a week of each other - and on the eve of Daredevil's third season, no less - but now it's been made official.

Although Netflix don't release ratings, it was quite easy to see why they canned both Iron Fist and Luke Cage: neither were of truly GREAT quality, even if the former made improvements in its second season. Daredevil, on the other hand, is something else entirely. The third season wasn't just its best so far, but is the best season of superhero TV ever made, and means that the Netflix version of the MCU is well and truly dead (the cancellations of Jessica Jones and The Punisher now seem like a formality, once their forthcoming seasons have aired).

With these shows, Netflix made an ambitious attempt to build a small-screen, street-level version of the Avengers, but with four shows gone (including The Defenders), it's clear that the experiment has failed.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.