Netflix
Well, the other shoe finally dropped. Netflix has officially cancelled their two remaining Marvel series Jessica Jones and The Punisher.
Fans of both shows knew this day was coming, but that doesn’t make it suck any less. The only thing left is for Netflix to air the third and final season of Jessica Jones which has already been filmed.
“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” Netflix told Deadline on Monday. “Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.
“In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones. We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others,” they continued.
“We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning.”
The Punisher star Jon Bernthal seemed to allude to the show’s cancellation with an Instagram post on Monday morning that read, “To all who have served. All who know loss. All who love and understand Frank and his pain. It has been an honor to walk in his boots. I’m endlessly grateful to the comic fans and the men and women of the Armed Services and law enforcement community who Frank means so much to. Thank you to the USMC and all the wonderful soldiers who trained me. Go Hard. Be safe.”
Meanwhile, Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb wrote his response to the cancellations of their last two shows on Netflix on Marvel.com…
It had never been done before. Four separate television series, each with different super-talented showrunners, writers, directors, cast and crew, coming out months apart and then …they would meet in a single event series all set in the heart of New York City. We called them The Defenders.
And together we were thrilled by stories of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and even the Punisher joined in! They said it couldn’t be done. But Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes. Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft.
We loved each and every minute of it.
And we did it all for you — the fans — who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.
So, Thank You! On behalf of everyone at Marvel Television, we couldn’t be more proud or more grateful to our audience. Our Network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that,” the company added.
As Matthew Murdock’s Dad once said, ‘The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up. To be continued…!
How the stories of Matt Murdock, Wilson Fisk, Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Elektra Natchios, Maggie Grace, Benjamin Poindexter, Jessica Jones, Trish Walker, Jeri Hogarth, Malcolm Ducasse, Frank Castle, Billy Russo, Dinah Madani, Luke Cage, Misty Knight, Claire Temple, Danny Rand, Colleen Wing, Ward and Joy Meachum, and Mary Walker will “be continued” remains to be seen.
As of right now, Disney-owned Hulu appears to be Marvel fans only hope.
— The Punisher (@ThePunisher) February 18, 2019