Over the past few years, specifically, when Disney purchased Marvel a decade ago, the company has been trying its best to keep all the characters’ rights under one roof. While there is still the whole ‘Spider-Man’ situation with Sony, the only other outliers that are left are the ‘Defenders’ characters that were lent to Netflix for the multi-year run of series. But with reports that those rights are now back with Marvel Studios and Disney, fans are wondering if they might see Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the rest showing up in films and TV shows on Disney+? Kevin Feige isn’t ruling it out, but he’s not confirming any of the rumors, just yet either.
Speaking at the recent TCA Panel (via Deadline), Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked about the rights situation with the Netflix/Marvel characters and if we might see them in future MCU projects. Adding a bit of hope for the fans of those shows, the Marvel boss stopped short of confirming they would return but definitely did hint that you might not have seen the end of those characters.
“I think we probably could do it, I think a lot of that stuff comes back to us,” said Feige. “There’s always rumors online about things reverting, sometimes that’s true, sometimes it’s not, but I’m not exactly sure of the exact contracts but perhaps someday.”
What he’s referencing is the recent news from websites speculating the Marvel characters that appeared in Netflix series, such as Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Iron Fist, and others have seen their rights revert back to Marvel Studios/Disney.
While we have yet to hear any specific word that these characters are back in the Marvel Studios fold, there has been rampant speculation that Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock (a defense attorney from Hell’s Kitchen played by Charlie Cox in the TV series), is expected to show up in the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” There are also rumors that Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter) could show up in “Captain Marvel 2.” Obviously, these have yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios and the validity of the rumors is a bit suspect, to say the least.
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However, the characters do seem to be on the radar of Kevin Feige, so who knows what might happen?
One thing we do know is Marvel Studios is definitely not taking the TV model of the Netflix series for the upcoming slate of Disney+ shows, at least in terms of length. With “WandaVision” clocking in at nine episodes and “The Falcon and Winter Soldier” reportedly having six installments, folks have been wondering how Marvel Studios chooses the season length. Well, it’s a case-by-case basis, but Feige explained that most will come out to about six-hours total, either with a grouping of shorter episodes or six hour-long installments.
“Six hours is what we landed on as the best way to tell our story,” said Feige about the forthcoming ‘Falcon’ series. “Six hours, whether it’s six episodes, or nine shorter episodes like ‘Wandavision.’ The shows aren’t inexpensive, so the per-episode cost is very high and to get that bar I was talking about.”
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This six-hour mandate is in stark contrast to what Netflix did with its ‘Defenders’ lineup of Marvel series. Those shows typically clocked in at 12 or 13 hour-long episodes. And even the very best seasons, such as “Daredevil” Season 2, “Luke Cage” Season 1, and “Jessica Jones” Season 1, all felt way longer than they needed to be and could have benefited from a shorter run-time.
So, even if the ‘Defenders’ heroes do eventually return to the MCU in a TV series or two, don’t expect them to be around long enough to wear out their welcome.
