More of Marvel content is continuously being amassed under the Disney umbrella. As per plans, Disney is pulling ‘The Defenders’ from Netflix at the end of February. Rights to shows including ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’, ‘The Punisher’, and ‘Iron Fist’ are also reverting to them. 

All these shows will be leaving the platform on February 28. All of these shows were licensed originals on Netflix and the license period has ended, which is why they’re returning to Disney. Fans first suspected the shows would be leaving when Netflix attached the “this show is available until March 1st” tag. While it is likely that these shows will reemerge on Disney+ or Hulu, no premiere dates have been set for them. 

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The collaboration between Netflix and Marvel began with ‘Daredevil’, the blind superhero from Hell’s Kitchen. The gritty take with Charlie Cox stepping into the role was much appreciated and did a good job in altering the character’s image since the ill-received Ben Affleck portrayal in the movie. 

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The success of ‘Daredevil’ prompted Marvel to expand the deal with Netflix and several other spin-off characters popped up in Hell’s Kitchen. ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘The Punisher’, ‘Iron Fist’, and ‘Luke Cage’ all arrived in quick succession. Needless to say, some were better than the others, with ‘Iron Fist’ faring worst among fans. The heroes all teamed up for a mini Avengers-like adventure in ‘The Defenders’, which held immense potential, but again failed to impress. 

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Disney’s focus on streaming had already set an end date for the Marvel content on Netflix since it has always been Disney’s aim to consolidate all its original titles under a single umbrella. Moreover, Disney+ has garnered a fair bit of success due to original Marvel shows ‘WandaVision‘ and ‘Loki‘, with ‘Moon Knight‘ making the right noise ahead of release as well. 

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Although the Netflix shows are departing, the characters may very well appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that is continuing to expand. Not only has Cox desired a role to play the Daredevil again, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige also noted that if the Daredevil were to pop up in the movies, Cox would step into the role.