The Marvel universe on Netflix kicked off back in 2015 with the first season of Daredevil, and it was such a big hit that the streaming service went on to produce a whole bunch of other Marvel superhero series. The third season of Daredevil will hit the web in October and finally pay off on the cliffhanger ending of The Defenders. Even though fans have only seen brief amounts of footage of the third season, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb has already revealed that Marvel has ideas to keep Daredevil going for a while, saying this:
We find the best showrunners that we can, whether it's Steve Lightfoot on Punisher or Erik on Daredevil, and we work together with them to craft the best story that we can... Does Marvel have an idea as to what Daredevil 4, 5, or 6 could be? Sure. But ultimately those things will be shifted and talked about by the two other important parties that are involved: the network -- Netflix -- and our showrunner. So we take it on a season-by-season basis, with a general idea as to where we want to be for all of our characters.
Erik Oleson stepped into the showrunner position for Daredevil Season 3, which will take Matt Murdock and other characters in some brand new -- and potentially even darker -- directions. Despite the dire circumstances Matt looks to be operating under in Season 3 that could spell the end of his run as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, there are evidently ideas for how the show could continue significantly further. Of course, as Jeph Loeb makes clear in his comments to EW, no matter how many ideas are percolating behind the scenes at Marvel, the future of Daredevil and the rest of the streaming superhero shows depends on Netflix.
The streaming giant has largely had success with its superhero series so far, which include Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher on top of Daredevil. That said, Iron Fist hasn't garnered the best reception, and there's no guarantee at this point that The Defenders will be back for a second season without some huge changes. If Netflix remains on board with the Marvel originals, Daredevil could very well extend into Seasons 4, 5, and 6.
We'll have to wait and see. Daredevil is hardly the only show Marvel has going for it. In addition to the Netflix shows, there are already Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cloak & Dagger, and Runaways. Another superhero series is in the works at ABC, and this show -- if it gets a series order -- will focus on female superheroes.
As if all of these shows aren't enough, the Disney streaming service is developing some TV shows that will star characters and actors from the MCU films who haven't gotten a movie of their own. Details about those shows are still relatively scarce, but Loki and Scarlet Witch are two of the MCU characters likely to star in their own limited series on the streaming service.
For now, we can look forward to Season 3 of Daredevil, which premieres next month and brings back Wilson Fisk as a big bad. Be sure to tune in to find out exactly what happened to Matt in the aftermath of the Defenders cliffhanger that revealed him not to be as dead as the other heroes believe. He doesn't appear to be looking to return to his old life. Daredevil Season 3 joins the Netflix lineup on Friday, October 19 at 12:01 a.m. PT.
