Netflix Has Canceled Its Last Marvel Shows, ‘The Punisher’ and ‘Jessica Jones’

Fans of Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher” will be disappointed to hear that Netflix is officially canceling both shows.

Deadline broke the news on Feb. 18. The second and final season of “The Punisher” is available to view on the streaming site now. The third and final season of “Jessica Jones” will air later this year.

The cancellations were not unexpected as Disney, which now owns the rights to Marvel, will soon be launching its own streaming site. It didn’t make sense for Netflix to keep producing Marvel shows when the larger rights to the Marvel Universe are in the hands of a now-direct competitor, Disney. The shows were also expensive to produce.

“We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning,” Netflix said in a statement.

Even a logical financial decision like Netflix’s probably won’t comfort fans of either show. Critics praised “Jessica Jones,” which stars Krysten Ritter in the title role. Jones is an unwilling superhero/private detective who is trying to kill her personal demons — first with alcohol, then with superhuman strength and willpower.

Ritter paid tribute to “Jessica Jones” on Instagram on Feb. 18, writing, “It has been a dream to play Jessica alongside my amazing cast and the best crew in the business for these past 5 years. I am so grateful for every second of it. We have THE BEST fans. You guys mean the world to me and I appreciate you beyond words. The final season of #JessicaJones is coming later this year and I am proud of how we complete JJ’s journey. I can’t wait for you all to see it.”

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“The Punisher” stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, an ex-soldier who takes revenge on the people that killed his family and finds that a larger conspiracy theory lies underneath their deaths.

Bernthal also said goodbye to his character on Instagram on Feb. 18, saying, “To all who have served. All who know loss. All who love and understand Frank and his pain. It has been an honor to walk in his boots. I’m endlessly grateful to the comic fans and the men and women of the Armed Services and law enforcement community who Frank means so much to. Thank you to the USMC and all the wonderful soldiers who trained me. Go Hard. Be safe.”

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“Jessica Jones” debuted in November 2015 and “The Punisher” in November 2017. The other Netflix-Marvel shows — “Daredevil,” “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist” — have already been canceled as Netflix phased out its relationship with Marvel Television.

But the head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb, hinted at some future form of the shows in an open letter.

“Our Network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters … but you know Marvel better than that. As Matthew Murdock[Daredevil]’s Dad once said, ‘The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up.’ To be continued…!”