Daredevil, Luke Cage and The Defenders won't appear on Disney's streaming service - for now

A clause in the cancellation contract with Netflix stipulates a two-year waiting period

The cancellation of 'Daredevil', 'Luke Cage' and Marvel's Netflix shows has been a blow to the streaming service, to say the least.

'Daredevil', for example, was one of Netflix's top shows and while 'Luke Cage' had somewhat lukewarm reviews, there was clearly a lot of support for it. Since the cancellation of these shows, there's been a question mark over whether any of these characters would appear on Disney+, the House of Mouse's rival streaming service.

A report by Variety now has it that a clause in the contract between Marvel / Disney and Netflix states that there has to be a two-year waiting period between when the characters appear on Netflix and when they'll appear on Disney+ or any new iteration. Interestingly, 'The Punisher' and 'Jessica Jones' both have not been cancelled as of yet.

The third season of 'Jessica Jones' is expected on the streaming service in 2019, meaning that if it was cancelled after the first episode airs on Netflix, it couldn't appear or be used by Marvel until 2021.

'The Punisher', however, is a different kettle of fish. Because it didn't fall under the original deal that covered 'Daredevil', 'Luke Cage', 'Iron Fist', 'Jessica Jones' and 'The Defenders', there may be a different deal in place with regards to the character appearing on Disney+ or being used again in another format. There's also a question around whether 'The Punisher' will even be cancelled at all.

The other question that hasn't been answered by any of this is whether the series will actually stay on Netflix at all, or if they'll be removed once the two-year waiting period is up altogether.