Will Netflix's Jessica Jones And The Punisher Be Cancelled?
Will Marvel pull the trigger on the final two shows on Netflix?
As has become abundantly clear recently, the age of Marvel's Netflix shows is over. The final nail in the coffin for the shows came when the most successful of them all and that which kicked off their run - Daredevil - was cancelled despite a revitalising third season picking up critical acclaim.
When Iron Fist was cancelled, we predicted that this was all down to Disney's plans for Disney Plus (despite their claims that the relationships with third party shows could continue) and the disconnect between Netflix as a streaming platform and Disney as a content provider refusing to give them anything to stream. It was always going to reach breaking point.
Fundamentally, Netflix shouldn't be in the business of making Disney money when Disney have so openly removed all of their content and expressed their intention to continue limiting access to it because of their own streaming plans. From that point, the writing was on the wall and already we've seen Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil bite the dust.
So what of the remaining two shows? Are Jessica Jones and The Punisher going to buck the trend and blaze an unlikely trail in the brave new world of post-Disney Netflix? Or are they simply delaying the inevitable? Well, it's pretty safe to say that the only reason the shows haven't yet been cancelled is down to one thing and one thing only: they both have a final season either in the can or partly completed. Production is complete on The Punisher season 2 and the third Jessica Jones series is being made now.
Beyond their completion, we can probably expect to see both Jessica Jones and The Punisher cancelled - probably once they've aired in 2019. It might evene happen before then. Netflix won't want to undermine their own marketing campaign by putting a dampener on things with cancellation confirmations too early, but they could potentially use it to their advantage if they choose to announce the inevitable early. It would be the same sort of mentality that makes bands announce Final Ever Tours before tickets go on sale: a sort of "for one last time" deal to bottle-neck hype. Maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing?
Still, the fundamental message here is that it's likely to happen to both The Punisher and Jessica Jones soon.