By CARL MCDONALD
Contributing Writer
Being one of the biggest streaming services of all time, Netflix has been able to produce new and very entertaining shows and movies. With Netflix producing originals, such as “Game of Thrones,” “Glow,” “The Umbrella Academy,” and more exciting shows, they are basically unstoppable in terms of creating content. However, even with the rise of Netflix and their viewership, it hasn’t stopped them from canceling two of their biggest shows. On Feb. 18, 2019, it was announced that both “The Punisher” and “Jessica Jones” were canceled.
The two shows were not only the last two Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) TV shows dropped by Netflix, but were also having their current seasons released for this year. “The Punisher” had its second season released Jan. 18, 2019, and there were plans for a third season. Season three of the series would’ve possibly seen Wilson Fisk making his return to MCU Netflix as Frank Castle’s main antagonist. Fisk and Castle’s history go back to the second season of “Daredevil,” in which Frank stood trial for multiple homicides. He would plead guilty at his hearing and would be sent to jail meeting with Fisk, who was put in jail for racketeering.
Fisk would have Castle kill another inmate who was the Kingpin of the prison the pair were held at, meaning Fisk would have control over the corrupted police and inmates. Fisk does this because he wants the title of Kingpin and wants Castle to believe he has info about his family’s death. After Castle does so, Fisk double-crosses him by having multiple inmates trying to kill him.
However, Castle overpowers and kills all the men. After Castle’s fight with the now dead inmates, Fisk and him have a small physical fight. This fight ends with Fisk forcing the guards to allow Castle to leave the prison, this is so Castle can back to his mission of killing everyone responsible for his family’s murder. Daredevil would’ve also appeared on the show, by the looks of it to help The Punisher take down Fisk.
However, The Punisher’s arc started off as Daredevil’s new baddie killing multiple people affiliated with gangs. The reasoning for this is because they were all apart of the massacre that killed Castle’s family. As for Jessica Jones, the cast and crew had recently wrapped up production and are planning to release the final season sometime this summer. Jessica Jones will take place right where it left off, with Trish Walker’s discovery of her own powers, Jessica’s relationship with her landlord, Oscar, the formation of the trio alliance of Jeri Hogarth (Jessica’s acquaintance/sometimes lawyer), Malcolm (Jessica’s former employee), and Pryce Cheng (Jessica rival), and possibly Walker trying to make amends with Jones after killing Jones’s mother in the season two finale. As mentioned before, these were the last two shows in the MCU that were originally from Netflix.
Late last year, “The Defenders,” “Iron Fist,” “Luke Cage,” and “Daredevil,” were all canceled by the same provider. All shows, including “Punisher” and “Jessica Jones” were going to have more seasons for their respective shows. The reasons why all shows had actually been cancelled was because of how Netflix weren’t the owners of the shows, it was and still is Disney. Netflix had the task of paying ABC Studios a licensing fee for each season. With the cancellations, there are rumors of the delayed shows that they will join Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+ or even Hulu. If all shows do get pulled from Netflix permanently, it looks as if Disney’s and Netflix’s partnership will be terminated. This will mean not only will their originals be erased, but also other TV shows like “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and the MCU films. Both Agents and the films will remain on cable TV, as the weren’t originally on Netflix. Finally, as the story develops, a number of fans aren’t happy with the shows delays. Comic book fans are the most disappointed, but there is one individual who stands above the rest when he found out about the cancellation of The Punisher.
Rapper Eminem took to Twitter bashing Netflix for the move. There was actually a Punisher comic book story arc, where Frank Castle was tasked with protecting the rapper. Eminem tweeted, “DEAR @NETFLIX, REGARDING YOUR CANCELLATION OF THE PUNISHER, YOU ARE BLOWING IT!! SINCERELY MARSHALL.”
