What went wrong with Marvel’s Netflix shows? The CEO of Netflix speaks out on the internal issues that plagued their shows in the Defenders saga.
The Defenders saga will go down as one of the oddest chapters in Marvel Television history. Their slate of Netflix shows produced some of the most legendary and revolutionary pieces of superhero media in the genre. However, they culminated into a confusing and rather mediocre crossover series. Yet just as each of the shows finally began to find their footing again, the plug was pulled on their licenses, leaving the characters in purgatory for literal years.
A lot of blame has been tossed around for what went wrong with certain aspects of the Defenders saga. Finn Jones himself gets a lock of flack online for his role as Iron Fist, with many remarking that his reported refusal to do stunt training was a reason for his show’s poor quality. Others point to Netflix, which has a reputation for producing some rather mediocre projects along their prestige series line-up. However, it seems as though many may have neglected Marvel Television’s role in the mess.
Netflix CEO Calls Out Marvel Television
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos reflected on the Defenders saga during a recent profile with Variety. According to him, the streamer was always trying its best to make their shows the best they could be. It was Marvel Television that wasn’t willing to play ball. According to Sarandos, there were constant struggles between the two studios, as Marvel seemed to only be interested in making money with their slate of Netflix content.
“On our shows, we were dealing with the old Marvel television regime, which operated independently at Disney. And they were thrifty. And every time we wanted to make the shows bigger or better, we had to bang on them. Our incentives were not well aligned. We wanted to make great television; they wanted to make money. I thought we could make money with great television.”
“You want to work with people whose incentives are aligned with yours. When people are producing for you, they’re trying to produce as cheaply as possible. My incentive is to make it as great as possible. That’s a lesson that I take forever. As producers, whatever [Marvel] didn’t spend, they kept. So every time we wanted to add something to the show to make it better, it was a fistfight.”
Given the history of Disney executives penny pinching every aspect of their brand, from the theme parks to the feature films, it’s not shocking that Netflix found themselves struggling when it came to securing higher budgets for the Defenders saga. Of course, budget is far from the only issues the shows had. However, it does show that sometimes there is no “single” issue in Hollywood. Often, everyone brings a little bit of trouble to make on giant mess.
The Defenders saga is now streaming on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
