Daredevil has been born again in the MCU to great acclaim recently, but there was a time when it seemed unlikely that characters from the The Defenders

Saga would be seen again following the closure of Marvel Television and the cancelation of all the Netflix shows they produced. While there is now a strong likelihood that more members of the Defenders team will be making appearances in the MCU in the future, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos

has been taking shots at the streamer’s former partnership with Marvel as being a “cheap” experience.

Related

Marvel Teases Return of More Netflix ‘Defenders’ Ahead of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Premiere

A longtime Marvel executive has teased the return of more fan-favorite ‘Defenders.’

When Daredevil debuted on Netflix in 2015, it was a very different beast to Marvel Studios’ MCU. Dark and violent, the series was a huge hit, and was accompanied by Jessica Jones, which was also highly praised, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Punisher. Just like the first years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the saga included a crossover event series, The Defenders, in 2017. However, the series did not receive quite the reaction that was hoped for, and for Sarandos, that is all down to the way Marvel Television was being run outside of Marvel Studios and Disney. He explained in a profile with Variety:

“On our shows, we were dealing with the old Marvel television regime, which operated independently at Disney. And they were thrifty. And every time we wanted to make the shows bigger or better, we had to bang on them. Our incentives were not well aligned. We wanted to make great television; they wanted to make money. I thought we could make money with great television.”

“You want to work with people whose incentives are aligned with yours. When people are producing for you, they’re trying to produce as cheaply as possible. My incentive is to make it as great as possible. That’s a lesson that I take forever. As producers, whatever [Marvel] didn’t spend, they kept. So every time we wanted to add something to the show to make it better, it was a fistfight.”

Marvel Studios Is Bringing the ‘Defenders’ Back, One Hero at a Time

Disney+

In 2019, the idea of Daredevil and Kingpin being potentially able to share screentime with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and several other New York-based Avengers was a prospect no one really expected to see. Now, not only have Daredevil, Kingpin, and Frank Castle, aka The Punisher joined the MCU, but there is a good chance that others will be joining them in the future.
Originally, the new Marvel series of Daredevil: Born Again was to be a fresh start for Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and looked to ignore everything that had gone before on Netflix. However, a necessary and potentially show-saving overhaul later, and Born Again is now a belated continuation of the franchise. With several stars such as Deborah Ann Woll, Wilson Bethel, and Elden Henson having been brought back to the series, the question is how many more will be returning to their old roles in the coming seasons. With money now not a major concern, it is possible that The Defenders may get the chance to rise again in a much more satisfying way in the MCU.
Source: Variety

The Defenders

Release Date

2017 – 2016

Showrunner

Marco Ramirez, Douglas Petrie

Writers

Douglas Petrie, Marco Ramirez

Franchise(s)

Marvel