The messy downfall of the Marvel Netflix universe continues to get messier. If you were holding out hope that the series and their characters might find new life on Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Disney+, Variety has some bad news for you. The outlet reports that the deal for the original four Marvel shows — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist — includes a clause that prevents the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix series or film for at least two years after cancellation.

That’s extra bad news for fans of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and my dearly departed Daredevil, which were all canceled in recent months at Netflix and thus, could not move to Disney+ until 2020. That also leaves Jessica Jones behind, since the critically acclaimed series has one more season set to air in 2019. That means she couldn’t move to the streaming service until 2021. It's worth nothing that Jessica Jones has not been officially canceled yet (though it pretty much seems like a foregone conclusion at this point).

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Image via Netflix

The odd man out here is The Punisher, the standalone series that spun off after Jon Bernthal’s spin on the character was introduced in Daredevil Season 2. Netflix revealed today that the second season of the hit series will premiere in January, but since that character was not part of the deal for the original four shows, the details of the show and characters fate looking forward remains a bit of a mystery.

This is just a real bummer move for fans. I get it, it’s not personal, it’s business. After all, who in the wide world loves raking in $$ more than Disney and Netflix? But it’s still a blow, especially on the heels of Daredevil’s excellent third season, which so perfectly set the stage for more to come. Apparently, it was quite the shock for the cast and creators as well, who were in the writers' room working on the fourth season of Daredevil when Netflix and Marvel pulled the plug. That just stings.

The Netflix/Marvel kerfuffle comes on the heels of Disney’s 2017 announcement that they would develop a streaming service of their own, recently dubbed Disney+, which will be home to all Disney content, including Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. At the same time, Netflix has been gravitating towards content that they produce, distribute and exclusively control (with some notable exceptions, like that big-bucks Friends deal).

Disney already has a number of Marvel series lined up for their service, including live-action series for MCU characters Loki, Scarlet Witch and Vision, as well as a reported Winter Soldier/Falcon team-up. Which is all well and good, it really is, and I can’t wait to see them, but at what cost? AT WHAT COST? (I’m clearly still recovering from the daredevil cancellation, please respect my privacy during this difficult time.)

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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix