The cancellation of Daredevil last week knocked Marvel fans everywhere off their feet. Sure, Luke Cage and Iron Fist had previously been cut down in their prime as well, but we didn’t really think that the jewel in the crown of MCU TV shows would be next for the chop. A lot of people still watched it and it was receiving quite a bit of critical acclaim. In fact, the third season was described as the best ever Marvel-Netflix season.
You might say that its cancellation makes no sense, then, and someone who’d agree is Daredevil star Vincent D’Onofrio. The Kingpin actor shared a story from Yahoo.com reporting on the news that Netflix data reveals the demand for the show was still very high – as we previously explained, it was the fourth most-viewed original series on the site. In response to the article, D’Onofrio wrote: “I’m in such an odd business. Don’t feel bad folks, it makes no sense.”
He’s right. From Netflix’s point of view, they’d have to be idiots to cut down the show after just three seasons when it clearly still has so much potential left to mine. Season 4 had already been mapped out, too, with one exec producer promising that there were set to be many moments in the unmade run that fans would’ve loved.
Unfortunately, from what we can gather, the situation isn’t a simple one. It probably wasn’t Netflix alone that cancelled Daredevil but more that the whole Marvel-Netflix union has crumbled. A big factor in their waning partnership is Disney Plus, the rival streaming service that’ll feature brand new Marvel content. Meanwhile, Netflix is looking to create its own brands not connected to other companies. So, both parties are believed to have given up on their previous deal.
That means that Jessica Jones and The Punisher will likely join Daredevil and the others and be brought to a close, too, after their third and second seasons, respectively, air next year. Like the Kingpin said, it’s an odd business.
