• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 14, 2022

Content clawbacks are accelerating as big entertainment players face off in the streaming arena.

Netfllix has posted a note on its platform informing subscribers that six Marvel “Defenders” universe shows will not be available on the service after March 1.

The shows — “The Defenders,” "Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist” and “The Punisher” — were made for Netflix by Disney’s now-defunct Marvel Television between 2015 and 2019.

Marvel Television ceased producing new episodes of the show and disbanded in 2019, the year that Disney launched Disney+ and decided to create its own Marvel content.

Now, the TV series’ rights have reverted to Disney.

Contract terms that prevented the series’ title characters from appearing in non-Netflix series for two years after their cancellation have also expired, opening the way for Disney to have actor Charlie Cox reprise his Daredevil character in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and Vincent D’Onofrio to reprise his Kingpin role from the “Defenders” universe in a new TV series, “Hawkeye.”  

Disney hasn’t yet revealed its plans for the six TV series, but with content — particularly from lucrative franchises like Marvel’s — considered the key to driving streamer subscriber growth and retention, the assumption is that the shows will be made available on Disney+ and/or Hulu.

Disney+ is already the main streaming home of Marvel content, including “Hawkeye.”

Some of the Netflix-originated shows, including “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage,” have mature content that wouldn’t typically be found on Disney+, but Disney has for some time been expected to begin broadening Disney+’s content beyond PG in order to draw and retain more adult viewers.

However, Hulu, which is majority-owned and controlled by Disney, also has two adult animated Marvel series, “M.O.D.O.K.” and “Hit-Monkey,” both of which were created and sold to Disney by Marvel TV before it shut down in 2019.

The new Marvel studio run by Kevin Feige has indicated that some of the shows might be revived. One possibility might be “Daredevil,” given Cox’s recent debut in the latest Spider-Man flick.