How Marvel Spotlight Can Revitalize Canceled Netflix Marvel Shows

The upcoming Daredevil: Born Again is the most anticipated Marvel series to hit Disney+, with the show set to continue the story of the Netflix Daredevil series. Though it’s not a “true” Season 4 of that show, it is a veritable revival that brings back Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Given that it’s a continuation that fans had long asked for, it showcases the potential to bring back the other Netflix Marvel shows.

Luke Cage and other Netflix Marvel programs ended before their proverbial time, and there were several directions that the stories could have taken. News about the show confirms that there were plans for more, with the bulletproof man and other street-level characters deserving their own new series. Thankfully, both Daredevil: Born Again and the banner that it will be released under offer the opportunity to right the wrong committed when Luke Cage and the other shows were canceled.

Daredevil: Born Again Is Continuing the Canon of the Netflix Series

While it isn’t set to pick up directly after the series, Daredevil: Born Again is the closest thing that fans will get to a fourth season of Netflix’s Daredevil. This finally cements that series as being truly canon to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had long been debated by fans. After all, the canonicity of the Netflix Marvel shows was something of a one-way street, with their events referencing characters and concepts from the movies, but said movies never doing the same for them. It was only after Matt Murdock showed up during a scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home that suspicions over Daredevil being non-canon to the rest of the MCU were put to rest.

Even then, some believed that this iteration of the character was exclusive to the MCU proper and not the same one seen in the Netflix show. The same was believed concerning Daredevil’s appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Kingpin’s presence in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. Finally, things were officially set in stone with the release of the series Echo, with the show being prefaced by the Netflix shows’ “Defenders Saga” being established as part of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Thus, fans can watch Daredevil: Born Again with the knowledge that what was previously seen leads into its events.

Luke Cage’s Season 3 Episode Titles Have Been Revealed

Cheo Hodari Coker — the showrunner for the Netflix Luke Cage series — revealed the episode titles for the show’s planned third season. Like the other Marvel Netflix titles (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and The Punisher, with The Defenders being seen as more of a miniseries), it was brought to an end as Marvel Studios proper began pivoting to creating its own television content. Thus, the era of both the Netflix programming and shows such as ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger and Hulu’s Runaways and Helstrom was over.

The reveal of the Luke Cage Season 3 episode titles gives a glimpse at what could have been, especially given the series’ reception. While not as acclaimed as Daredevil, the Luke Cage series was definitely a success in its own right. It not only updated the character from his 1970s roots, but continued the gritty, street-level tone of what became known as the “Defenders Saga.” This only highlights how much more the shows and their characters had to offer, especially given their differences from the more mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings.

The Netflix Marvel Shows Had More Story to Tell

Daredevil had a lot of potential for a fourth season, which is one reason why Daredevil: Born Again is so widely anticipated. Even if it isn’t an official new season, the show will at least focus on the characters that viewers know and love. Thanks to reshoots and the series having its production started from scratch, this will now include Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. Unfortunately, most of the other Netflix Marvel shows haven’t been given anything resembling a continuation or a proper conclusion. With Luke Cage, Season 2 ended with him taking over Mariah Dillard’s club, Harlem’s Paradise. This threatened to see him walk down a dark path, the likes of which the Season 3 episode titles only hints at.

With the Iron Fist TV series, it was easily the most disliked of the Netflix Marvel shows. Even then, the second season was seen as a major improvement, and it set things up for Colleen Wing to wield the power of Iron Fist. With The Punisher, there was a plethora of storylines from the mainstream comics and the Marvel MAX comic books that could have been adapted for a third season. The most notable of these involved the character Barracuda, who could have fit right in with the world established by the previous seasons. Jessica Jones was the only series that didn’t need a continuation of any sort, with its third season actually wrapping up that character’s arc.

The Defenders Saga offered a break from the more lighthearted and comedic mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Focusing less on grandiose plots and showcasing the small-scale side of superheroics, the tone of these shows became sorely missed as Marvel’s current Multiverse Saga began. Daredevil, in particular, was perhaps the most beloved MCU project, and the loss of shows like it left a major void. Daredevil: Born Again isn’t just continuing that series’ story, however, as it’s releasing under an MCU banner that can lead to the other shows and their heroes getting a second lease on life.

Marvel Spotlight Can Continue the Defenders Saga

The Marvel Spotlight banner is meant for darker, more mature shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beyond this tone, it will also tell stories that are fairly removed from the mainstream overarching plot. In this way, it will act as an all-encompassing home to the equivalent of the Netflix shows and other firmly canon-adjacent titles. The first of these was 2024’s Echo, which even featured Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. With more shows on the way under this imprint, it means that third seasons for The Punisher, Luke Cage and Iron Fist can finally be made. If nothing else, these can be single-season “event” shows that conclude the stories of their respective heroes.

The Punisher: MAX might adapt elements of both Garth Ennis and Jason Aaron’s comic books of the same series. Closing the curtain on Frank Castle might even be necessary due to Marvel Comics abandoning the character and replacing him with a very similar vigilante. Luke Cage: Hero for Hire and The Immortal Iron Fist can wrap up loose ends from the preceding series while setting the stage for a Heroes for Hire spinoff. This way, there’s something for fans to follow along with beyond the main saga, offering a tonal reprieve from when the more family-oriented productions get too “out there.” Likewise, it will prove once and for all that the Netflix shows were canon and not a “waste,” making their street-level human interest themes just as vital to the MCU as talking raccoons and Infinity Stones.

The Defenders Saga can be streamed on Disney+. Daredevil: Born Again is set to hit Disney+ in 2025.