While Jessica Jones' third season hasn't aired on Netflix yet, the show was cancelled earlier this week along with The Punisher. They now join the rest of the online streaming giant's Marvel TV shows to get the axe, but what was the reason for things playing out the way they did?
Well, while the planned launch of Disney+ has put a serious strain on the studio's relationship with Netflix, there's more to it than just that. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Netflix didn't actually have an ownership stake in any of shows featuring the characters who made up The Defenders. Instead, they had to pay a steep licensing fee for each respective season.
As viewership dropped, it simply wasn't worth paying that much money to keep the heroes around, especially as clashes with Marvel became more frequent. For example, Netflix wanted to drop the number of episodes down to 10 instead of 13 to help tighten creative.
In the case of Jessica Jones, the departure of showrunner Melissa Rosenberg played a role in the decision to cancel it before season three airs and with the show's stars fielding offers ahead of pilot season, Netflix didn't want them tied down for a fourth batch of episodes which were unlikely to ever happen as relations with Disney grew more strained.
Like the other shows, it was extremely expensive to produce and Netflix makes renewal and cancellation decisions based on viewership versus cost. These Marvel TV shows simply weren't worth it.
It's a shame, but it does sound like there may be some sort of future for these characters...
For a recap of The Punisher season two's Easter
Eggs, hit the "View List" button below!
Amazing Spider-Man #129
When Russo finally breaks out of the hospital he's being kept in, the villain forces her through a door with the number "129" emblazoned on it. This has to be a reference to Amazing Spider-Man #129, the classic issue which introduced Frank Castle as one of the wall-crawler's foes.
The Punisher later got his own series, of course, but this is a nice way to pay homage to where the character originated from.
A Happy Ending
Daredevil may not be getting a fourth season but at least we (sort of) know that Matt Murdock got a happy ending. Season two of The Punisher is presumably set after the events of that show's third batch of episodes and Frank namedrops the Man Without Fear when he tells Karen Page that she shouldn't throw what she has with him away because she's chosen to come and track him down.
Amy Bendix
Season two of The Punisher features a lot of newly created characters but Amy Bendix has been taken straight out of the pages of the comic books. She first showed up in 1994's Punisher: War Zone #24 as a child who witnessed the vigilante taking out some criminals before vowing to keep that a secret.
In the show, however, she's been aged up and doesn't really have much in common with her comic book counterpart.
Assault On Precinct 13
Episode three might just be the best instalment of season two and it's clearly meant to be a homage to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13. Frank and Amy end up being trapped inside a sheriff's office and are forced to team up with the local cops as the villainous John Pilgrim closes in.
There are some cracking action scenes and the tension is high from start to finish and it feels like a love letter to that classic movie.
Sergeant Brett Mahoney
Just like Karen Page, another character from Daredevil's world makes an appearance in The Punisher in the form of Sergeant Brett Mahoney. He's become something of a constant in these shows and was introduced in Marvel Comics Presents #1 back in 2007.
Peter Castiglione
This familiar Easter Egg crops up almost immediately when Frank is referred to as "Pete," a pseudonym he also used in season one.
This is, of course, a reference to the name he's frequently used during his comic book adventures and that surname comes from "Castilogne," his family's original Italian name before they moved to the states. If you're not familiar with the source material, this may have been lost on you!
"Fortunate Son"
Episode ten features a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic "Fortunate Son," a song which is obviously closely associated with the Vietnam war. In the comic books, that was originally the war Frank fought in before returning home to see his family slaughtered by gangsters.
The Mennonite
The season's big bad - John Pilgrim - may appear to be an original creation at first glance but he shares a lot in common with a Punisher villain called The Mennonite.
That character was an Amish farmer rather than a devout Christian but the similarities are clear enough to see and the changes made do actually make a lot of sense.
"Jigsaw"
When Billy Russo wakes up, he claims not to have any memory of the fight with Frank that landed him in the hospital. Now, Marvel has faced a fair bit of backlash since it became clear that this version of Jigsaw wouldn't be as hideously scarred as his comic book counterpart but we do at least get a reference to his moniker.
Billy's doctor tells him that he has to "put together the jigsaw" and that's about as good as it gets throughout the entire season!
Turk Barrett
Another familiar face in this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Turk shows up here and is caught right in the middle of Frank's feud with the Russians when the vigilante threatens the hapless gunrunner into becoming his liaison with them. They part ways on relatively good terms but this could be his final appearance on the small screen.
Stan Lee
Stan "The Man" Lee never made a physical appearance in these Netflix TV shows and there's obviously no sign of him throughout The Punisher season two. However, at the end of the finale, a message comes up on screen reading, "In Loving Memory Of Stan Lee."
We'll presumably see something similar when Captain Marvel is released in theaters this March.
Continue reading below to check out all the officially
released stills from The Punisher season two!
SEASON 2, EPISODE 1
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Giorgia Whigham
SEASON 2, EPISODE 2
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes, Floriana Lima
SEASON 2, EPISODE 2
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes, Floriana Lima, Amber Rose Revah
SEASON 2, EPISODE 3
PHOTO CREDIT: David Lee/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 3
PHOTO CREDIT: David Lee/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 3
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes
SEASON 2, EPISODE 3
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes, Floriana Lima
SEASON 2, EPISODE 4
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Amber Rose Revah
SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Amber Rose Revah, Jason R. Moore
SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal, Rob Morgan
SEASON 2, EPISODE 6
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Josh Stewart
SEASON 2, EPISODE 6
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Josh Stewart
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jason R. Moore, Amber Rose Revah, Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal, Jason R. Moore
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal, Jason R. Moore
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 8
PHOTO CREDIT: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes
SEASON 2, EPISODE 8
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 8
PHOTO CREDIT: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes
SEASON 2, EPISODE 9
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Ben Barnes
SEASON 2, EPISODE 10
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal
SEASON 2, EPISODE 12
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Giorgia Whigham
SEASON 2, EPISODE 13
PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Howe/Netflix
PICTURED: Jon Bernthal, Giorgia Whigham