Netflix’s MCU: What Went Wrong?
1. Netflix Doesn't Need Marvel Anymore
It's worth remembering that Netflix and Marvel made this deal way back in 2013. This was a time when Marvel were still only tentatively stretching into the realm of television - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had only just launched when this was announced - and Netflix were only beginning to make a splash as a producer of original content.
Much like Disney now have their own plans for MCU TV shows beyond Netflix - ABC, Disney Plus, and Hulu (with the Fox merger) offers plenty of options for an array of content that they have full ownership of - so too does Netflix have a lot more to offer besides Marvel. Back in 2013, they'd had breakthroughs with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, but using the Marvel brand was a huge boost for them. They hadn't established themselves as major players in the TV market yet, and here they were aligning with the biggest franchise in cinema.
Now, though, Netflix are spending billions on their own content. They're a brand unto themselves. They have other comic book properties, such as Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The Umbrella Academy, which fit much closer with the rest of their output: they won't have to pay as much for those, and can have complete control over them. The same can be said for their deal with Mark Millar: they purchased his Millarworld, which will produce multiple TV shows and films for them. They can't get that with Marvel, which is ultimately servicing Disney. Netflix likely paid big bucks for the IPs back in 2013, and the shows come with a markup that makes them much more expensive than most of their other Originals. That made sense back in the days when they had only a couple of noteworthy series. Not they drop one every weekend, it's an unnecessary expenditure.
All of these comic book properties are on top of their other huge shows, such as Stranger Things or The Haunting of Hill House. Netflix can capture the zeitgeist and demand your attention in a way few networks could watch. And what's more, they're doing it at a ridiculous rate. The deal suited both sides in the beginning. The cancellation suits both sides now. Netflix have an almost unwatchable amount of content, which is only going to increase over the next year or two. Weirdly, they don't need Marvel.
Are you sad to see the Netflix Marvel shows go? Let us know down in the comments.