Marvel’s burgeoning television universe has officially come to an end after Netflix axed the last shows remaining in Jessica Jones and The Punisher, as the streaming giant made an official announcement last night.
“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” it confirmed to Deadline, whilst also adding: “Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.
“In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” Netflix also made official this President’s Day. “We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others.”
Netflix ended the note by thanking Marvel and their partnership as well as the constant backing and encouragement from the fans: “We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning.”
The latest announcements would have hardly come as a surprise to the Marvel fandom, given Netflix’s axing spree of late that has seen them cancel Iron Fist, Luke Cage and even Daredevil, all in the last four months. And now with The Punisher and Jessica Jones meeting with the same fate, Marvel’s television arm has hit the buffers.
The third season of Jessica Jones is still to air, but it would be the last to do so on Netflix, when it launches later this year.
Speculations are rife that Marvel’s parent company Disney’s decision to come up with its own streaming service Disney+, could be the reason, and Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb hinted in his cancellation news that the saga may not be over after all, and the shows might indeed be heading to the upcoming streaming service: “Our network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that.”
