Netflix is looking to produce their upcoming Marvel TV shows at a faster rate, despite previously saying only two Marvel seasons per year would be available on the streaming service. The company wants to reduce downtime between the five shows they now have on their plate – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Defenders – but scheduling and production could push the next seasons for the first two shows to 2018.
Netflix head Ted Sarandos spoke with IGN at the Television Critics Association press tour, where they brought the first two episodes of Luke Cage, regarding their upcoming Marvel schedule. Asked whether we could see more than the current two Marvel seasons a year, Sarandos said, “I doubt that we could produce at the quality that they produce at that speed. But we're gonna try to make them quicker so we can get less downtime between them.”
The increase in their Marvel content may not begin until 2017 as the company has their hands full with the string of shows they’ve locked down for that year. Sarandos notes that they have “Luke Cage upcoming and then Iron Fist and then Defenders, and then we’ll start slotting the second and third seasons of the shows that are upcoming.” As to other future plans, he adds that they “haven't gone beyond that yet.”
Their upcoming supergroup series, The Defenders, which will see the heroes of those first four shows teaming up together, will also affect production for new seasons of their solo titles. Sarandos says that “the whole cast is called on for The Defenders, which changes the production schedule for the other shows.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBZtM8q2Z1g
Asked if the “whole cast” includes The Punisher, Sarandos only replied with, “Uh… stay tuned.” While this doesn’t confirm whether or not Jon Bernthal’s character in Daredevil Season 2 would be involved in the team-up series, it looks to be under consideration at least.
Both Daredevil and Jessica Jones were renewed for their third and second seasons, respectively, earlier this year, though with Netflix’s current plans, those new seasons may not arrive until 2018.
Netflix surely has its hands full with its Marvel lineup, and it could be part of the reason why the company chose not to pick up ABC’s cancelled Agent Carter. Sarandos told EW that “We're looking for truly original brands to own and in that Marvel space we already have [original comic book shows] - so that was mostly why.”
While this could be sad news for Daredevil and Jessica Jones fans (as well as Agent Carter fans), we can at least expect their other upcoming Marvel shows to be of the same caliber as those first two.
Luke Cage will premiere on September 30, 2016, while Iron Fist and The Defenders are set to debut in 2017.
