So we recently received the shocking news that Daredevil on Netflix is done! After a stellar Season 3 it comes as a surprise to most that the story isn’t continuing into a Season 4 and beyond! Daredevil is no more…..let the wild speculation begin!
Mixed Season Ratings
Daredevil is without a doubt one of the strongest Marvel tv series to date. But here is a breakdown of the three seasons showing that not all of the series maintained a high standard.
Season 1: Very well received with solid acting, set action pieces and a near faithful comic book recreation of the beloved Matt Murdock played by ‘Charlie Cox’. This first Season introduced the amazing Kingpin played by ‘Vincent D’Onofrio’ and set up the Marvel universe on the small screen. The only flaw with this first Season was perhaps it was a couple of episodes too long, however still an amazing and greatly received start.
Season 2 : Woof! This is a divisive one. Most agree that this is the weakest of the three seasons. The pacing wasn’t good and it felt over-bloated. The main story with Electra played by ‘Elodie Yung’ and the Hand was actually very dull and the fight scenes with the cladded ninjas was reminiscent of Power Rangers (not a favorable comparison for anyone!). However, this season also brought us the absolutely excellent Frank Castle AKA ‘The Punisher’ played by ‘Jon Bernthal’ and he became the highlight of the season. His story arc was rewarding and kept the show moving along nicely. Add to that some brief yet brilliant appearances from Kingpin again and you have a weirdly paced season with mixed highs and lows.
Season 3 : I don’t want to cover this in any great detail as it’s only just dropped and I would encourage everyone to go watch. Needless to say, with Kingpin taking the highlight along with the introduction of ‘Bulleyes’ the show seems to have gotten back to it’s former glory. A little slow again in the first few episodes but definitely a very worthwhile watch and critically well received by all.
When you add all three seasons together, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the show would continue. However, even though Season 3 was well recieved, it has been stated by Netflix that viewership dropped off every season with Season 3 finishing with the lowest viewership of the three.
Too Many Options
Netflix appears to have endless pockets when it comes to cash but as a company they have grown over the years. Back when Daredevil Season 1 came out, there wasn’t too many Netflix originals out there. Nowaday, they have built a huge catalog of originals and perhaps are becoming more frugal over watch shows they continue to pump money into.
Fallen Comrades
Daredevil is not the first Marvel property to be dropped by Netflix. Both Iron Fist (understandibly…it was crap!) and Luke Cage have been dropped. This leaves the future of the defenders all but dead and I’m starting to worry for Jessica jones….it seems only a matter of time before she gets the chop also.
Strained Relationship
Netflix has to work in partnership with Marvel when making these Tv series and don’t have any ownership rights to the characters or stories (naturally enough). This means keeping on board and in active discussions with Disney which leads me nicely on to my next point…..
Disney Streaming Service (Most likely Reason)
Disney have announced that they plan to launch their own streaming service in the next coming years. It doesn’t make sense for Netflix to continue promoting Marvel and their products when they are effectively advertising for their upcoming rival. Disney have become a Titan in securing contracts and when they pull all their products for they own streaming service (Disney Classics, ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, Touchstone) they will effectively hurt Netflix and it’s popularity. It makes sense to sever that relationship as soon as possible so that when the big launch comes, there isn’t such a huge hole made in Netflix catalog or tv shows and movies.
That’s my two cents worth. What do you think? Should Jessica Jones be fearful of the mouse? Will we see Season 4 on a different platform with the same actors/characters? Will Disney slowly take over the world?
Let me know in the comments below……and farewell Matt Murdock….so blind that you didn’t see it coming!! Did ‘Elden Hensons’ at least know? No, he didn’t have the foggiest!! I’ll stop now!
www.geekgasm.org 