Daredevil and the other Marvel shows are leaving Netflix. Does this mean they're coming to Disney+, and if so, what does it mean for the MCU?
Daredevil and the other Marvel Netflix shows are leaving Netflix at the end of February - and it's possible they're going to Disney+ and Hulu. In 2013, Marvel Entertainment and Netflix reached an agreement that led to the launch of six live-action superhero shows: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and a Defenders team-up series. Sadly, Netflix canceled the shows one by one in 2018 and 2019, and though they never announced their reasons, it was likely due to a combination of changing corporate priorities and reduced viewership of the Marvel Netflix shows. Ever since, there's been speculation Marvel and Disney would eventually find a way to bring them to Disney+.
That's seemed increasingly likely since December 2021, when Marvel Studios chose to bring back some of the popular characters and their actors from the old Netflix shows, with Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock returning in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. While this was praised by fans, it was a surprising decision from a business perspective, because technically anybody who was interested in the characters after their MCU appearances would need to go Disney+'s streaming rival to see more of them. Ever since, viewers have been looking for any sign the rights to the Marvel Netflix superheroes were changing.
Now, that could finally be happening. It looks as though the various Marvel shows are about to leave the Netflix streaming service. Though there's as yet no evidence they're moving to Disney+ (or Hulu), that seems a logical conclusion; hopefully, it won't be long before it's officially confirmed.
Daredevil and other Marvel shows are leaving Netflix at the end of February 2022. The various Marvel Netflix shows have now been loaded with brief pop-ups alerting viewers they'll only be available to watch until March 1. This pop-up was initially only visible in the U.K., with reports of other territories as well, but it was swiftly loaded in the United States too. It's not unusual for Netflix to lose viewing rights to a show, but it is rather more surprising to see a Netflix Original disappearing from the streaming service, especially at such short notice. As yet, there's been no comment from Netflix, Marvel, or Disney, but EW has reported they have confirmed the rights are going to Disney.
The rights to the Marvel Netflix shows are actually surprisingly complicated. Character rights were always owned by Marvel, but there were clauses in the deal between the two companies that meant Marvel was unable to use them for two years after their shows had been canceled. That meant Marvel regained the rights to use Daredevil characters in late 2020, with Jessica Jones and her associated characters becoming available in 2021. That's why Marvel chose not to use Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio until the end of 2021, when all rights were back with the House of Ideas.
Distribution rights were a different matter, though. Technically Daredevil and the other Marvel Netflix shows were produced by Marvel Television, but they were paid for by Netflix and the streaming giant is believed to have owned the distribution rights in perpetuity; that's actually pretty standard for Netflix Originals. Thus, it's reasonable to assume Disney and Marvel have reached an agreement for those rights to be bought back by Marvel. There's a parallel with Star Trek: Discovery, where Netflix initially paid 100 percent of the show's budget to CBS in return for international distribution, but recently renegotiated that deal, with Star Trek: Discovery moving to Paramount+ at short notice. It's quite possible something similar has happened in this case, although granted in less spectacular a manner; viewers were given less than a day's notice when it came to pulling Star Trek: Discovery from Netflix.
There's a sense in which Netflix no longer needs these old Marvel shows. The original Marvel Netflix deal was struck back in 2013, when Netflix was new to creating original content. Now, however, the streaming giant is well known for its extremely competitive slate of Netflix Originals, with new shows coming out every week. They've even developed their own range of superhero and comic book adaptations, including the likes of The Umbrella Academy, Raising Dion, and Locke & Key, meaning Marvel's departure won't leave any holes in their programming. What's more, because there have been no new seasons for several years now, Netflix has stopped promoting Daredevil and the other Defenders, meaning they're gradually sinking to the back of their vast catalogue. Daredevil no doubt experienced a surge in viewership after Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but if not for that boost all these series would soon be forgotten, only revisited occasionally by the most hardcore fans. It would therefore make perfect business sense for Netflix to agree to sell the distribution rights at this time. That said, it's also possible that this was a departure that was agreed upon a while ago, whether during Marvel's corporate restructuring or when Disney bought 20th Century Fox, and thus Hulu, to compete with Netflix. Whatever the exact time frame or details, the rights are going back to Disney and Netflix is clearly fine with it.
One thing is certain right now; Daredevil and the other Marvel Netflix shows are leaving their original home, and they're likely to go somewhere else instead. They'd be a poor fit for Disney+ in the United States as Disney's streaming service doesn't have adult content yet, and the Marvel Netflix shows are decidedly adult in nature. It's more likely they'll instead go to Hulu for the foreseeable future, as Disney has majority ownership shares in Hulu.
Distribution is a little easier in some international territories where Hulu never rolled out, because these countries have Disney+ Star, an extension of the basic Disney+ package that allows viewers to register for more mature, adult content. Assuming the departure of Daredevil and the other Marvel shows from Netflix does indeed indicate a new deal has been struck, this would be their logical new home internationally, and it will be particularly interesting to see how they integrate into the wider Disney+ library. Disney+ Star makes additional mature content available as part of the standard sections, so they could potentially be classed as either "Marvel Cinematic Universe" or "Marvel Series and Specials," a classification that could finally indicate whether the Marvel Netflix shows are canon in the MCU. Hopefully, Marvel will soon make an official comment about these major changes - and exactly where Daredevil and his fellow Defenders are moving to.
