Several hit MCU TV series, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders, are all reportedly set to leave their digital home of Netflix next month. Created exclusively for the streaming service, the shows focused on introducing new Marvel superheroes who had not appeared in previous MCU movies or TV series. Each individual show eventually culminated in the Avengers-esque crossover miniseries The Defenders (with the exception of The Punisher, which was itself a spinoff from Daredevil), and saw the new team of assembled heroes battling against the supervillain organisation known as The Hand.

Following-on from the success of Marvel's ABC shows Agents of Shield, Agent Carter and Inhumans, the multiple Netflix shows (collectively known as the Marvel Street-Level Heroes or Marvel Knights series), began with the release of Daredevil in 2015 starring Charlie Cox as the titular blind superhero. Its sibling shows soon followed, with Krysten Ritter starring as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Finn Jones as Iron Fist, and Jon Bernthal as The Punisher. A generally positive reception to the franchise ensured that most of the shows enjoyed a run of at least two seasons. However, despite this, Netflix eventually cancelled every series by February 2019.

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Now, it would appear that there's even more bad news for fans of Marvel shows like Daredevil and The Defenders. GamesRadar reports that Netflix have confirmed in a pop-up message on each show that they will now only be available to watch on the service until March 1. And although the publication only confirmed this to be the case in the UK, it was reported that the removal also "seems to be the case in other regions."

Daredevil-and-Marvel-Defenders-on-Netflix

Netflix is yet to comment, or confirm where the interconnected series will be housed instead, if anywhere. There have been previous speculations that the Netflix shows could find themselves revived on Disney+, Marvel's new home for its original TV content. This would certainly be plausible now that Disney has the rights to the characters in non-Netflix settings, following the contractual two-year waiting period after their cancellation. But so far, Marvel boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that the studio's primary focus for now is the various new MCU series (which are considered MCU canon, while these previous Marvel Netflix shows are not) being developed for the platform, such as Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel.

But although this will undoubtedly come as quite a blow to devotees of shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Defenders, there may yet be hope. It's certainly clear that Disney have plans to incorporate the characters back into the MCU after their absence. With Cox recently reprising his role in a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D'Onofrio returning to play Daredevil villain Kingpin in Hawkeye, fans of the Netflix series can perhaps be reassured that it seems very likely that Daredevil - and possibly his superhero colleagues - will have their long-desired revival sometime in the MCU's future. But regardless of when, or even if, audiences will be treated to a new beginning for the Marvel characters, the removal of their original series from Netflix would be incredibly disappointing to enthusiasts of the Marvel Knights, who still love to re-watch their introductions to the Marvel universe.

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Source: GamesRadar

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