Try to be surprised. Really, just try. But it’s not quite as simple as you might think, even if you were surprised.
In the endless hell year of 2018 the fact that Netflix turned to Thanos and asked him to watch in awe as it decimated its own Marvel roster feels like it was ancient history.
The cancellation of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and then Daredevil seemingly out of nowhere left fans not only asking why, but also assuming that these shows—and presumably Jessica Jones and The Punisher, whenever those eventually join their comrades in the cancelled pile—were being primed for a splashy return on Disney’s own upcoming streaming service, Disney+.
And while it’s not a certainty quite yet, it seems like that could be an option on the table—at least, according to Kevin Mayer, Disney’s chairman for its direct-to-consumer deals.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a wide-ranging interview this week, Mayer didn’t exactly confirm that it would happen — in fact he noted explicitly that nothing has happened yet—but teased that the House of Mouse is at the very least having thoughts about reviving the Netflix-Marvel universe on Disney+:
They are very high-quality shows. We haven’t yet discussed that, but I would say that’s a possibility.
It’s basically the “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” scene from Dumb and Dumber, in Disney Executive quote form.
Nothing’s likely been discussed quite yet given that we also recently learned that part of Marvel and Netflix’s deals over the shows allegedly includes a waiver that, should they be cancelled, the characters involved could not appear in another Marvel-produced show for at least two years.
So even if Disney were more interested than they currently are—beyond the merest possibility that Mayer mentioned—they’d have to wait a while before they could even begin the process of reviving those shows, anyway.
And two years is a very long time—for both fans to be a little less aggrieved that the Defenders were cut down in their prime, and for Disney itself to move on and be intrigued by other new Marvel projects, like the Loki and Vision/Scarlet Witch shows.
By the time that waiver ends, there could be a lot less interest in bringing these shows back. But for now at least, Disney would very much like to tease the possibility while dangling a subscription to Disney+ in your face, though.