Netflix Curiously Cancels A Second Marvel Show

Netflix surprise cancels Luke Cage
Netflix did what???

Well, the Marvel lineup continues to dwindle at Netflix. Last week Netflix announced that they cancelled Iron Fist. Today they announced the cancellation of Luke Cage.

This leaves Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I have to wonder when their time is up? Daredevil's newest season premiered online tonight (Friday, Oct 19).

Here's the thing that has me being suspicious...

Last year Disney announced pulling their Marvel content from Netflix and launching it's own streaming service with all its products. They said they will be pulling all of their properties under their one umbrella streaming service. That will include several exclusive series and every film in the Star Wars, Marvel Entertainment, Pixar and Disney Animation universes.

Great, just what we need yet one more service to pay for.

But when that announcement came out, Netflix said that their Marvel shows are not going anywhere, quoting their exclusive contracts to produce what titles they've negotiated for.

Add to that what we've heard from the entertainment industry, and that is when Disney wants something they strong arm their way to their goal. From jacking up licensing fees to threatening to pull their films from entire movie theater chains if they don't get what they want, we know they are a very shrewd business player.

When Iron Man 3 came out, they wanted a larger cut of ticket prices. Theater chains said no. Disney threatened to pull the film from entire theater chains if they did not get what they wanted.

Quentin Tarantino had his own run in with Disney with one of his films (Hateful Eight) that he specifically filmed for one large format theater. But Disney wanted one of its Star Wars film to play there during the holiday time frame that Tarantino had negotiated for his film. Disney forced ArcLight Theaters to pull Tarantino' film by threatening to pull The Force Awakens from the entire theater chain if they did not get what they wanted, and Tarantino lost that battle.

That's just a few examples of many over the years. Disney is not one to be trifled with when they make a decision and want something, that's for sure.

Which has me wondering.

Looking at the timing of everything, from Disney announcing they're starting their own streaming service, Netflix saying they won't lose their Marvel products, then just a few months before Disney comes on line, Netflix is starting to cancel their Marvel products. Well, hmm. I have to wonder if Netflix is looking at some kind of coercion from Disney, like larger licensing fees or something along those lines. Considering it's track record.

In one case it's been mentioned that Iron Fist will live on. And some have surmised that that means they may restart the show under their streaming service. But on the more sane side of the same coin, let's talk about the last seasons of both Iron Fist and Luke Cage.

First, Cage was much better than Fist.  Iron Fist was getting weird with the actual power source, and all the kung fu movie fights.  Luke Cage was a much better story, but they had so much filler content that they could have made the show into six or seven excellent episodes instead of ten.

But that seems all moot now, doesn't it?

Maybe it was truly due to viewership ratings and I'm just being too jumpy. But in the overall scheme of things, Disney still knows how to manipulate the market to their own will. Quite the eye-opener, that's for sure.

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