One might not think Netflix would need to get rid of any shows; they have all the money in the world and seemingly endless bandwidth. But every now and then they go on a bit of a cancelling spree. One week ago they up and chucked Iron Fist, their Marvel show about a white martial arts dude. Now, as per Deadline, they’ve done the same to Luke Cage, another Marvel product, this one about a black crime-fighter in Harlem.
Both shows had lived for two seasons, though Luke Cage was the better received of the two. That’s partially thanks to villains played by acclaimed actors, like Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Oscar-nominee Alfre Woodard, and Annabella Sciorra. And it was partially thanks to it being a Marvel product that featured a black hero before Black Panther rolled around. It was also partially thanks to it being good.
The news reportedly came as a shock to the creative team. Deadline reports that showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker had been hard at work on Season 3, which everyone involved had considered a foregone conclusion. Still, there had reportedly been tensions between Netflix, Marvel top brass and the writer’s room, leading to some of the old “creative differences” in the last few days.
The canning of Luke Cage and Iron Fist still leaves three Marvel shows actively in production on Netflix: The Man Without Fear series, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher. There’s no word on a second season of The Defenders, the group show that pitted everyone (minus the Punisher) together, nor on a fourth season of Daredevil. Disney’s own streaming service, which will surely feature original Marvel content, is set to launch next year.
(Via Deadline)