Fanboys Anonymous

It was only a matter of time before we saw life breathed back into the Daredevil film franchise after Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios' President of Production, announced back in April that the live-action rights reverted back to Marvel Studios from Fox. Speculation about Marvel/Disney's plans for "the Man Without Fear" sizzled among fans, and some believed he was in consideration for one of the four drama series slots previously rumored back in October that would exclusively stream on a short list of candidates, including Amazon and Netflix. Well, the wait for the word on Marvel's plans is over, as they officially announced on their website yesterday their plans to produce not only a Daredevil forerunner program, but also miniseries based on their character properties Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, each premiering in 2015 with a minimum of 13 episodes each exclusively on Netflix. Additionally, the four miniseries will culminate in a miniseries programming event in which the heroes will join forces Avengers style as the street-level team, "The Defenders".


These characters and their team will be based in the dark, grimy streets and alleys of Hell's Kitchen in New York City. Whether they will face villains from Marvel's comic books, or if the series will somehow tie into or interact with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the upcoming Marvel Studios films has yet to be determined. Perhaps with Marvel's speculated plans for a Doctor Strange film (Feige neither confirmed nor denied these plans in an interview with IGN) is a plan for a possible crossover with the Defenders, especially since the Sorcerer Supreme was a founding member of the team in the comics. Interesting to note, though, is the plan to bring the four heroes together under the Defenders banner instead of the "Heroes for Hire" one, from which Luke Cage and Iron Fist were founding members. Perhaps this is to keep the already rough-and-tough characters under a friendlier, Avenger-esque guise to dodge any issues the audience may have had with vigilantes who fight evil for the right price. Either way, fans now wait with bated breath to see how Marvel can possibly redeem Daredevil from his slump in his 2003 film.

So tell us, fellow fanboys and fangirls, are you excited for the upcoming live-action miniseries? What are your expectations and hopes?  And if (and when) Marvel and Netflix or another TV streaming company have plans for more of these kinds of miniseries, what Marvel Studios-owned characters would you like to see on the small screen? (Keep in mind: Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and all mutants are off limits, as their rights are still held by Sony and Fox, respectively.) Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

P.S. I'd like to throw in Moon Knight as a contender for a Netflix live action series! He's already had speculation for one in the past, and it's about time the Lunar Crusader got the spotlight.