While everyone knows that Disney is gradually subsuming all Marvel content – whether it’s Sony’s Spider-Man (and his rogue’s gallery), or Fox’s X-Men and Deadpool – it was still something of a surprise that the R-rated Netflix shows have found a home on Disney Plus. In the US, Disney Plus has always been a family-friendly channel.
But uncut versions of Luke Cage, The Punisher, and Daredevil, with all of their sex and violence, have indeed now become part of the Mouse House. One of the darkest Netflix shows was Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter as an alcoholic private investigator with PTSD. David Tennant’s Kilgrave was the bone-chilling villain in season 1, and his mind-controlling powers led to many horrific storylines.
Now that Jessica Jones has joined her fellow Defenders on Disney Plus, star Ritter has taken to Instagram to post a picture of herself as Jones, along with a joke; “Guess who’s a Disney princess now?” The move from Netflix to the new streamer has renewed interest in the shows, with many people catching up with them or re-watching.
The fact that The Defenders (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock and Danny Rand), as well as The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and villains such as Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) are now technically in the MCU is opening up the possibilities for these characters to make a return. So far, Kingpin had a cameo in Hawkeye, and Murdock made a brief appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Whether the characters who originated on Netflix make further appearances in Marvel movies or other TV shows remains to be seen. There is also the chance that we might get new seasons of some of the shows. Charlie Cox, who plays Daredevil, has been enthusiastic about returning to the character on TV or in movies.
While we wait to discover the fate of Matt, Jessica, Luke, Frank and our other favourite anti-heroes, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 4.