Agents of SHIELD was just the beginning. Today Disney and Netflix announced a “blockbuster” deal that will see four live-action television series from Marvel TV to stream exclusively on Netflix beginning in 2015.
Each Marvel series will span a minimum 13 episodes and center around a hero from Hell’s Kitchen, New York starting with Daredevil, who is getting a second lease on his live-action life after appearing in the Fox film of the same name. Subsequent series will revolve around Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
Each of these series will take multiple years to play out on Netflix, and then converge in a miniseries event The Defenders that will bring the four heroes together. Disney nor Marvel revealed a timetable for when The Defenders would premiere, but 2017 seems like a good guess if Netflix releases two series per year.
Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment had the following to offer:
“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty. This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos had this to say:
“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’, are huge favorites on our service around the world,” added . “Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels. With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”
Production on Daredevil would need to get underway next year so expect additional announcements regarding this mega-deal and expansion of the Marvel live-action universe to come sooner rather than later.
My take is this is the exact approach Marvel TV needs to take next. Agents of SHIELD has been met with indifference by many fans, and the lack of superheroes in that show would be addressed by the four Netflix series.
