Day by day, it’s looking increasingly likely that The Defenders miniseries was a one-off special from Marvel and Netflix, and that those four street-level heroes – namely Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist – are too busy tending to their own standalone stories for another TV crossover.
That was the message from Vice President of Original Content Cindy Holland last month (more on that later), but it seems the Powers That Be over at Netflix have quietly killed off any hope of The Defenders season 2. And this time, it really may be for good.
As reported by ComicBook.com, Netflix is in the process of launching NX, a dedicated, geek-friendly subsection for science fiction, superheroes and everything in between – think Stranger Things, Annihilation and Black Mirror. However it seems that NX has taken over the Facebook page originally earmarked for The Defenders.
A quick social media sweep reveals that the show’s dedicated Twitter feed remains intact, and while it doesn’t necessarily guarantee the end of The Defenders, it’s not exactly good news for the starry spinoff.
Issues with scheduling, not to mention those lukewarm reviews, appear to have sunk The Defenders before they really got a chance to cement their place on Netflix.
Unlike the usual 13-episode template, the Marvel crossover was limited to eight episodes, though it’s fair to say that the miniseries was really let down by its writing. Cindy Holland, meanwhile, recently pinpointed the exact reason why The Defenders season 2 is pie in the sky.
The biggest issue was the timing of production and launching of The Defenders, because what that meant is we had to shut down all of the shows, so all the actors could be available.
So, it seems The Defenders will always be remembered as a one-off special, as Netflix begins focusing its energies on new installments of The Punisher, Jessica Jones and Daredevil, the latter of which is expected to return before the year’s end.
