Netflix’s Marvel shows are joining a major streaming rival

Netflix’s Marvel shows have found a new home in Disney Plus.

The six TV series, including Daredevil and Jessica Jones, will officially join their fellow superheroes on Disney’s streaming platform on Wednesday, March 16. The news comes on the same day that the Netflix shows departed the streaming service (March 1) after the character rights reverted back to Marvel.

In a press release, Disney confirmed that Daredevil and company will join Disney Plus‘ back catalog of Marvel TV shows, which includes WandaVision and Loki, later this month. Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher are the other four TV series set to land on the streamer in due course. Another non-MCU show in Agents of SHIELD is already available to watch on Disney Plus.

Interestingly, the sextet will only be available on Disney Plus in certain regions. From March 16, Netflix’s Marvel shows will be streamable in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia only. Disney has confirmed that the superhero series will land in other international markets, where Disney Plus has been released, later in 2022.

Given that the Netflix Marvel shows contain more mature content than other MCU movies and TV shows, it’s unclear if they’ll live under the Disney Plus Star banner in non-US countries. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Disney will introduce new robust parental controls to ensure those aged 17 and under won’t have access to the R-rated shows. 

While US subscribers will be prompted to update their parental controls ahead of their arrival – Star isn’t available on Disney Plus US – there’s no word yet on whether UK, Irish, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand-based viewers will need to do likewise. We’ve reached out to Disney for confirmation and will update this article if we hear back.

Analysis: are Netflix’s Marvel shows now considered MCU canon?

Kingpin is held at gunpoint in Hawkeye’s season finale. (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus)

Spoilers follow for Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

That’s up for debate. On the one hand, Marvel Studios has seemingly confirmed that Netflix’s Marvel shows are canon in the MCU. With Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil making a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk/Kingpin doing likewise in Hawkeye, many fans consider Netflix’s TV offerings to exist in the MCU. And, with rumors surrounding the potential appearance of these characters (and more) in other Marvel Phase 4 projects, those calls only grow louder.

The problem, though, is that Marvel hasn’t outright confirmed or denied that this is the case. Yes, Daredevil and Kingpin’s appearances heavily suggest that Netflix’s Marvel shows are canon in the MCU, but they don’t completely validate their existence. 

We’ve already seen, in Loki’s first season, that variants of fan favorite MCU characters exist in the MCU, while No Way Home brought Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men incarnations over to the MCU as other multiverse variants, too. 

With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set to muddy the waters further, Marvel could simply say that the MCU’s versions of Daredevil and Kingpin are its own in-universe characters, and those that appear in the Netflix Marvel shows are multiverse variants. That way, Marvel doesn’t have to categorically state if Netflix’s Marvel TV series are officially canon; its multiverse exploration providing the perfect loophole to this scenario.

So, are Netflix’s Marvel shows canon in the MCU? Honestly, we don’t know. We’ve reached out to Disney and Marvel for an official comment, and we’ll update this section if we hear back. For now, though, the debate will rage on.

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