Marvel Netflix Shows Are Restricted From Moving To Disney+ For 2 Years

If you were hoping Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the rest of the Marvel Netflix shows might be migrating over to Disney+, I have some bad news. The shows are prohibited from moving to any other service for at least two years following cancellation, which means should Disney+ want to bring any of these series over, they wouldn't be able to do so until at least 2020.

When Iron Fist, Luke Cage and then Daredevil were cancelled by Netflix, many – including this very site! – theorized that they might be destined to end up on Disney+, the Disney streaming service set to debut in 2019. But that's not the case. At least, not for a while. According to Variety, the overall deal for the Marvel Netflix shows included a clause that "prevents the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix series or film for at least two years after cancellation."

Since all three shows were cancelled this year, that would prohibit Disney+ from reviving them until at least 2020. And as the clause states, not only can Disney+ not reboot the shows, they can't even use the characters. Meaning if Disney wanted to create a brand-new Daredevil show for Disney+, they'd still have to wait two full years.

And they might have to wait even longer if Netflix wanted to get really spiteful about things. The original deal involved the original four Marvel Netflix shows – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist – culminating in the miniseries The Defenders. The Defenders was never given a second season, and by all accounts, was intended to be a one-and-done event. But if Netflix wanted to really stick it to Disney+, they could potentially order another series of The Defenders, bringing all the characters back. This would in effect extend that two-year deadline even longer. Of course, that's pure speculation on my part, and it's not even clear if Netflix could order Defenders season 2 if they wanted to at this point.

Meanwhile, Netflix still has Jessica Jones, which will debut its third season on the streaming service sometime in 2019, and The Punisher, which drops its season 2 in January. The Punisher was not part of the original deal, so it's unclear where that character stands should Netflix decide to give the show the boot. Obviously, this is bad news for fans holding out hope of seeing the cancelled shows reborn over on Disney+. Everyone will have to make due with all the other original content the Disney streaming service is creating.