Marvel Will No Longer Be Able To Sell Licenses To Companies Not Owned By Disney

Fresh after it was said that the upcoming New Warriors series won't be screening in Freeform anymore, news has it that Disney will no longer be allowing Marvel to license characters to other companies not owned by Disney.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Sources suggest Disney-owned Marvel — which has a multiple-show deal at Netflix that includes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Defenders and upcoming Punisher — is no longer able to sell to outside companies.

That being said, if Marvel is no longer allowed to license characters to outside companies, that means that the Marvel Netflix lineup may not be able to expand anymore. A lot of people have been anticipating shows for characters like Moon Knight and Blade, but with this news, it looks like they'll have to stay put for now.

The news can come as a double-edged sword. Though newer characters may have a harder time now to step into the spotlight, now we can be sure that any more Marvel shows that happen in the future will be under the same banner—meaning there will be a more cohesive universe. Much as I like the Marvel Netflix shows, they don't really feel like they're part of the larger MCU.

With Disney planning its own streaming service in the future, I'm guessing it will be harder for the more R-rated superheroes to make the cut. Good thing Netflix got the Punisher before Disney decided to impose this new rule on Marvel.

Hopefully this will mean something better for the Marvel universe. It's already complicated enough that the character rights in the movies are spread between Fox and Sony.

See Also: Marvel's New Warriors No Longer Airing On Freeform