Stop the presses! Marvel and Netflix have teamed up in true superhero fashion and are bringing Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones to the small screen in five new television series starting in 2015, it was announced today.
Following on from Marvel’s AGENTS OF SHIELD series which began airing on ABC last month, this huge endeavour marks another huge step in Marvel’s multi-platform superhero takeover. Culminating in a mini-series provisionally entitled THE DEFENDERS, the four characters will each star in their own 13 episode solo series, premiering on Netflix, before finally teaming up in the aforementioned mini-series (in a way not unlike the current formula for Marvel’s AVENGERS movie franchise).
The exciting news was revealed in the following Press Release today: The Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc today announced an unprecedented deal for Marvel TV to bring multiple original series of live-action adventures of four of Marvel’s most popular characters exclusively to the world’s leading Internet TV Network beginning in 2015. This pioneering agreement calls for Marvel to develop four serialized programs leading to a mini-series programming event.
Led by a series focused on “Daredevil,” followed by “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage,” the epic will unfold over multiple years of original programming, taking Netflix members deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Netflix has committed to a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a culminating Marvel’s “The Defenders” mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.
Produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios, this groundbreaking deal is Marvel’s most ambitious foray yet into live-action TV storytelling.
“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. “This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”
“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”
No word yet on who will be producing, writing or starring, but with high profile names like David Fincher, Eli Roth and Jenji Kohan already making the move to Netflix, we can bet there’ll be some real talent working on this mammoth project. Who’d you like to see star or produce? Let us know in the comments below.
