Update: Disney To Spend $200 Mil on Netflix's "Marvel Defenders"

[JamesG]

Netflix Picks Up Four Marvel Live-Action Series & A Mini featuring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage for 2015 Launch
by DAVID LIEBERMAN aND NELLIE ANDREEVA
November 7, 2013


The Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc. today announced an unprecedented deal for Marvel TV to bring multiple original series of live-action adventures of four of Marvel’s most popular characters exclusively to the world’s leading Internet TV Network beginning in 2015.

This pioneering agreement calls for Marvel to develop four serialized programs leading to a miniseries programming event.





Led by a series focused on Daredevil, followed by Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage, the epic will unfold over multiple years of original programming, taking Netflix members deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

Netflix has committed to a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a culminating Marvel’s "The Defenders" mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.





Produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios, this groundbreaking deal is Marvel’s most ambitious foray yet into live-action TV storytelling.

“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment.

“This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”





“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.

“With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”





This new original TV deal follows last year’s landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm.

Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC TV and Disney Channel films and shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/11/disn...marvel-series/

[MacLeaper]

Awesome! As a comic books fan, (and specifically a Marvel and DC superhero fan- among many other comics), I will be excited to check this out. So it's just on the Internet [through Netflix], apparently?
Daredevil has been seen twice before in live action, but it'll be cool to see him in something again. And Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage have never had live action appearances so that will definitely be neat to see.
But if they're trying for a version of "The Defenders", I'd rather see the classic lineup- Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, The Sub-Mariner and The Incredible Hulk. [Of those, only Prince Namor has not had a live action appearance yet.]

But I'll certainly be interested to check out whatever they come up with.

[king of comedy]

This looks great. I hope they do well. I was really disappointed in Agents of Shield. I gave up on it.

[MacLeaper]

I saw one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Honestly, I don't think it's all that great. And that's coming from a fan of Marvel Comics (and DC Comics for that matter) and superheroes in general......
I think if Nick Fury was on the show as a regular character- that would be a lot more interesting. And of course, if they actually showed them dealing with more well known (and obscure too) Marvel villians- and some cameos from Marvel superheroes.
If they don't want to mess too much with the ongoing movie storylines, maybe they could bring in some previous portrayals of characters to make appearances- say, Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and either Eric Bana or Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk. (I'd love to see Lou Ferrigno cameo as David Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk too. And hey- while we're at it, if Nicholas Hammond ('70s Spider-Man) and Reb Brown ('70s Captain America) and Peter Hooten ('70s Dr. Strange) and Rex Smith ('80s Daredevil) and Eric Allen Kramer ('80s Thor) want to get in there- I'd be happy to see them have roles somewhere too.)
Smallville did a really neat deal with having so many actors and actresses associated with other DC Comics TV and movie productions guest star (Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Helen Slater, Terrence Stamp, Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lynda Carter and there may be others I forgot)- it'd be neat to see Marvel do something similar with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

Smallville did a really neat deal with having so many actors and actresses associated with other DC Comics TV and movie productions guest star (Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Helen Slater, Terrence Stamp, Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lynda Carter and there may be others I forgot)- it'd be neat to see Marvel do something similar with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marc McClure who was Jimmy Olsen in the Superman movies also made an appearance on Smallville.

[JamesG]

Disney To Spend $200 Mil on Marvel Series for Netflix Set to Film in New York
by Todd Spangler
2/26/14


The Walt Disney Co. will spend $200 million over three years filming four series based on Marvel’s street heroes characters in New York City for Netflix — the biggest TV or film production commitment in the history of New York State, officials said.

Disney chief Bob Iger and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at a joint press conference today, announced that Marvel’s landmark live-action television series will film principally in the Big Apple. The production is skedded to yield 60 one-hour episodes, resulting in 400 full-time jobs and 3,000 part-time production jobs.

Filming the Marvel Defenders project in NYC was important to Disney to ensure it was “authentic,” Iger said: “To us, it’s very, very important for us to be in New York.” The state also was “aggressive” in wooing the Mouse House’s business, he said, as New York State was among several localities in the running.







New York State is granting Disney tax credits worth approximately $4 million for the new Marvel series, a source confirmed. Since Cuomo took office in 2011, the administration has undertaken a concerted effort to win business from Hollywood productions.

The Marvel Defenders production will begin filming in NYC in July 2014 starting with the series based on Daredevil, followed by Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. Each of those characters — less well known than those in Marvel’s Avengers franchise — is set in Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

The series is being produced by Marvel Television, in association with ABC Television Studios, exclusively for Netflix. The deal encompasses 13 hourlong episodes per series for each character, plus a miniseries of four to eight episodes with all four of the Defenders heroes.

The Defenders series are expected to debut on Netflix sometime in 2015.







Disney’s Netflix deal for the Marvel series, announced last fall, followed a larger output deal the companies struck in late 2012, which includes exclusive pay-TV window rights for films starting in 2016. Under that pact Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription TV service for first-run movies from Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm.

In a statement, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said, “The Defenders are classic New York characters; smart, resourceful and tough enough to always stand up for what’s right. We’re delighted they’re coming to life on their home turf thanks to Governor Cuomo and his team.”

According to Cuomo, over the past three years, New York State’s film development efforts have produced $6 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs. “It’s an entirely new business line for the state, if you will,” he said. The Empire State offers up to $400 million in tax credits per year to TV and movie productions.







The financial crisis that began in 2007 made New York State realize it couldn’t rely solely on Wall Street, Cuomo said. “It was a wakeup call,” the governor said. The film biz, he added, originally started a century ago in New York, not California. “They stole the industry from us,” Cuomo said half-jokingly. “This is just its rightful return.”

Iger — a native of Oceanside, N.Y., on Long Island, who started out in the biz at ABC’s Upper West Side studios in 1974 — noted that the Mouse House has contributed some $500 billion to New York’s economy since 2008 and has supported 9,000 jobs. “I’m a proud New Yorker,” said Iger.

Disney held the event at ABC’s “Good Morning America” studios in Times Square. Iger ceremonially presented Cuomo with a framed poster of the Marvel Defenders characters.

http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/dis...ce-1201121502/

[king of comedy]

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

I saw one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Honestly, I don't think it's all that great. And that's coming from a fan of Marvel Comics (and DC Comics for that matter) and superheroes in general......
I think if Nick Fury was on the show as a regular character- that would be a lot more interesting. And of course, if they actually showed them dealing with more well known (and obscure too) Marvel villians- and some cameos from Marvel superheroes.
If they don't want to mess too much with the ongoing movie storylines, maybe they could bring in some previous portrayals of characters to make appearances- say, Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and either Eric Bana or Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk. (I'd love to see Lou Ferrigno cameo as David Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk too. And hey- while we're at it, if Nicholas Hammond ('70s Spider-Man) and Reb Brown ('70s Captain America) and Peter Hooten ('70s Dr. Strange) and Rex Smith ('80s Daredevil) and Eric Allen Kramer ('80s Thor) want to get in there- I'd be happy to see them have roles somewhere too.)
Smallville did a really neat deal with having so many actors and actresses associated with other DC Comics TV and movie productions guest star (Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Helen Slater, Terrence Stamp, Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lynda Carter and there may be others I forgot)- it'd be neat to see Marvel do something similar with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Adding these guest stars would make Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. better.

[MacLeaper]

Marc McClure who was Jimmy Olsen in the Superman movies also made an appearance on Smallville.

Yep- I forgot to mention him earlier, but he was in there too.
And if those stars of previous Marvel productions guest starred on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", I'd definitely tune in just to see them in a television show again. I think it'd be best to stick with the live action TV shows and TV-movies at first for Marvel (which means they could include David Hasselhoff, since he portrayed Nick Fury in the 1998 "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." TV movie- that would actually be really neat to see him show up as an alternate universe verison of Fury since Samuel L. Jackson plays the role in the show's universe.)
Other possibilities- Conan Stevens (who portrayed Man-Thing in the 2005 TV-movie), Nathaniel Moreau, Margot Finley, Bradley Machry and Jacelyn Holmes (who portrayed Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie Power, respectively, in the 1991 Power Pack pilot), Jeremy Ratchford and Heather McComb (woh portrayed Sean Cassidy and Jubilee, respectively, in the 1996 Generation X TV-movie) and then people from past movies that are not being tied in to the current Marvel movie universe.
(i.e. Dolph Lundgren from the 1989 "The Punisher" movie, Ed Gale [who was in the body suit for Howard The Duck in the 1986 movie of the same name] (though I'd love to see the character of Howard himself show up too-lol), Lea Thompson (who was Beverly Switzer in that same movie), Matt Salinger (from 1992 Captain America movie), etc.)
Ben Affleck as Daredevil and Jennifer Garner as Electra, from their respective movies. The Fantastic Four could be there too- perhaps utilizing casts from the 1994 Roger Moore movie version that was never officially released and the 2005 and 2007 movie versions. (And by the way, that movie franchise is getting a new start in 2015 with another movie and cast.)
And then there's Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry and all the rest of the cast from the X-Men movies. And, if he's out of prison yet, Wesley Snipes from the Blade movies. (Or maybe Sticky Fingaz from the short-lived Blade TV series- actually, it'd be cool to have him show up regardless.)