Disney Can't Even Touch The Netflix Marvel Characters For At Least Two Years

By Mike Redmond | Streaming | December 13, 2018 |

By Mike Redmond | Streaming | December 13, 2018 |

Yesterday, I covered the odd decision by Netflix to act like it didn’t spend 2018 dropping new seasons for literally every single of Marvel’s The Defenders heroes, and now comes another wrinkle in the battle between the streaming platform and Disney. According to an exclusive report from Variety, Disney isn’t allowed to touch the Netflix Marvel characters for at least two years — on any platform — so I hope you weren’t too attached to them.

Sources tell Variety that the deal for the original four Marvel shows includes a clause that prevents the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix series or film for at least two years after cancellation. That means that “Daredevil,” “Luke Cage,” and “Iron Fist” — which were all canceled this year at Netflix — could not come to the Disney streaming service until 2020 at the earliest.

As Variety notes, Jessica Jones still has a new season coming in 2019 and technically hasn’t been cancelled yet, so that puts her chances of showing up on Disney+ (or the movies) even further out. It also doesn’t bode well for anyone hoping to see The Defenders in the near future. Or at least the Netflix version of the team. But much like The Avengers, or basically every superhero team ever, The Defenders has had a revolving roster in the comics that includes everyone from Black Panther to goddamn Yellowjacket. For everyone with an active sex life, that’s the bad guy from the first Ant-Man movie, but also an alias that Ant-Man used in the comics for a while. Does your head hurt yet?

Seriously though, check out this list from Fandom:

Andromeda, Angel, Aragorn, Ardina, Beast, Black Knight, Black Panther, Candy Southern, Captain America, Clea, Cloud, Colossus, Daredevil, Devil-Slayer, Doctor Strange, Falcon, Gargoyle, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Hellcat, Hercules, Howard the Duck, Hulk, Iceman, Interloper, Iron Fist, Jack Norriss, Loa, Luke Cage, Manslaughter, Moondragon, Moon Knight, Namor, Namorita, Nighthawk, Nighthawk (Squadron Supreme), Nova, Overmind, Red Guardian, Sassafras, She-Hulk, She-Hulk (Lyra), Silver Surfer, Son of Satan, Stingray, Thing, U.S Agent, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), Valkyrie (Samantha Parrington), Wasp, Wonder Man, Yellowjacket

I’m a huge f**king nerd, and even I don’t know who half of these people are. “Sassafras?” What’s that guy’s powers? And it’s none because he’s Beast from the X-Men’s dog. They made a dog part of the team. What am I doing with my life?

Anyway, things get weirder with The Punisher. Variety sources say that show was locked down in a separate deal, so there’s a chance it might stay on Netflix for a little while longer. Then again, a new season drops next month, and Netflix has oddly buried that announcement at the very end of its latest “New to Netflix” video.

Of course, this could all be hashed out as both sides put down their knives. Netflix recently dropped $100 million just to keep Friends for one more year, so I’d like to think they’re probably open to a buttload of Disney money that frees the Marvel characters from streaming wars jail. But I’m just some rando who’s spent a vomit-inducing amount of money on comic books and collectible figurines, so maybe don’t listen to me when it comes to finances, marriage, child-rearing, impulse control, social interaction, non-superhero-based interior decorating, outdoor activities, power tools…