Team-ups in comic books are nothing new. So it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that two powerhouse entertainment icons are teaming up to bring more comic book heroes to our screen.
Marvel and Netflix announced a new deal today that will bring four new series and one mini-series to our screens.
The shows will debut in 2015 and feature Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Power Man and Iron Fist. Each series will run 13 episodes on the streaming service for its initial run.
Once each of those series sees its 13 episodes added to Netflix, fans will get a mini-series based on the Defenders.
The programs will take viewers “deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York,” according to a statement from the companies. The four series will culminate in a mini-series called “The Defenders,” billed as an event “that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing heroic characters.”
We heard rumors a few weeks ago that Marvel was looking to substantially increase its television output and shopping around the idea of four series and a mini-series. Today’s news shows that Marvel looks to continue to be a player and the deal with Netflix could be a significant one.
Alan Fine, president of Marvel Entertainment, called the deal “unparalleled in its scope and size,” in a statement released by the company. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, noted that Marvel movies like Iron Man and The Avengers have been “huge favorites on our service around the world.”
The small-screen rollout will attempt to replicate Marvel’s Avengers movie strategy. The company first made stand-alone movies for characters like Iron Man and Captain America and, once it had ignited a wide fan base for each, combined the characters into one mega-hit film that has now become a franchise. The second Avengers film, “Age of Ultron,” is expected to arrive in theaters in summer 2015.
Wow, that sounds like an awesome plan.
I wonder if they’re planning any sort of crossovers with Agents of SHIELD.