With a series of important announcements regarding the Marvel Netflix MCU all coming in quick succession, it’s time to do a quick news roundup to address the various rumors and happenings of Marvel Television. In the last week, we’ve heard rumors regarding “Luke Cage,” potential new series, and even official confirmations from Netflix.
First things first, Daredevil will premier earlier than expected, with an official release date of March 18th, 2016. The last season premiered in April, but with so many shows in the pipeline, it makes sense that they would like to release as many shows as quickly possible. With this one coming so early, it leaves the door open for the “Luke Cage” series to drop over the summer, and even “Jessica Jones” or “Iron Fist” to release in 2016. Below is the release date announcement for Netflix UK (which I believe is the best version so far):
With that in mind, “Jessica Jones” officially received a second season order, which honestly felt way overdue. While no release date is scheduled, it seems likely that we’ll get the sophomore season of the show before we get to “The Defenders.”
The Marvel MCU is really starting to buzz along, and feels like they can quickly catch up to the Movie MCU within a couple of years. In all honesty, the Netflix universe is more appealing to me as a viewer because I think they haven’t had a misstep yet. Only a couple of episodes are even mediocre, let alone the fact that the shows have been cited as two of the best shows on television. On top of that, they have already given a women her own series, a black actor his own series, and are now discussing using an eastern Asian to potentially play Iron Fist. The diversity in these shows is not a mistake and should be applauded.
Building off of the Marvel goodwill, Marvel has apparently already had internal discussions about the Punisher getting his own series. On one level, this discussion makes sense. The Punisher films were not particularly well regarded, and if “Daredevil” proved anything, it’s that the extra time afforded to a Netflix story can help create a more layered and complex hero. This is what the Punisher needs to be a good property, and its films have had some trouble. On the other hand, this feels extremely preemptive. Not only have we not seen the character in action, but he’s a very niche character. He’s complex, but I think he might be like the Hulk: he is a great supporting piece, but that might be the best way to utilize him.
It’ll be interesting to see where some of these things shake out, but ultimately, the Netflix MCU is chugging along great. It’ll be interesting to see what developments occur over the next few months, so we will keep you updated to when news comes out. With “Agent Carter” starting out Marvel’s 2016 strong, it looks like Marvel may be able to improve on its 2015.
“Daredevil” Season 2 is set to premiere on March 18th, 2016. It stars Charlie Cox, Rosario Dawson, Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Elodie Yung, and Stephen Rider.