Disney and Governor Cuomo Strike Major Deal Bringing Marvel's Netflix Shows to NYC

Unlike DC Comics which use fictional places such as Gotham City and Metropolis as locations for their stories, Marvel sets the bulk of their action smack dab in the heart of New York City. So it makes sense that they'd want to set their upcoming Netflix series' there, and now they've struck a major deal with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to make that happen.

Disney, Marvel, and Cuomo have announced that all of Marvel's upcoming Netflix shows featuring Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil will filmed in New York City as part of a major $4M tax incentive. The Wrap adds that these will be 60 one-hour episodes, 13 for each individual character, followed by a four-to-eight episode miniseries titled The Defenders. Drew Goddard's Daredevil will be the first to take advantage of this deal with filming to being this summer. That means we should be learning soon who will be playing the "Man without Fear".

Daredevil will be followed by Melissa Rosenberg's long-developing Jessica Jones series, leading into Luke Cage and a solo series for his kung-fu partner, Iron Fist. We're even starting to get some promotional art thanks Marvel's Agent M, who released the above image on Tumblr.

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Marvel Announces Live-Action Netflix Shows Featuring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage & Iron Fist, and The Defenders

Marvel's domination over all forms of media is now complete. A couple of weeks ago a story emerged that Marvel Studios and Disney were shopping around a package of four TV series and a miniseries to cable and digital streaming networks. It didn't take long for them to find a buyer, either, as a deal has now been struck with Netlix to stream the Marvel Universe right into your home.

The ambitious plan has Marvel producing four 13-episodes series, and the most awesome thing about it is they involve characters we've been expecting to see on the big screen forever. The first series will center on the newly-acquired Daredevil. Next up is Jessica Jones, who in the Marvel comics is a former superhero-turned-detective. She's also married to Luke Cage aka Power Man, who is next up to get his own series, which will then be followed up by his pal, Iron Fist. All of this will culminate in an epic miniseries titled The Defenders.

It's a pretty shrewd move for Marvel, and as long as they find a way to make each series capable of standing on their own, there should be no risk of fans experiencing superhero fatigue. This also gives Marvel the chance to do go in some darker directions than they may have been able to on public television or in the movies. For instance, Jessica Jones' comic series Alias (one of the best written comics ever, IMHO) explored some of Marvel's nastiest corners and dug into the personal lives of heroes in ways that would potentially turn off general audiences looking for something less weighty. And let's be honest, we all just hope they turn out better than Agents of SHIELD, right?

So what do you think? Is this a good idea? Which show are you looking forward to most?

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XXX writer to script Iron Fist's big screen adventures

We've known for awhile that Marvel Studios was looking to create series of lower budget films centered around the publisher's B-list superheroes. Now we're getting word that they've hired Rich Wilkes(XXX) to script a film centered around Iron Fist, the martial artist/businessman frequently partnered up with Luke Cage. Cage is another character rumored to have a film in the works. Could this possibly lead to a crossover film of sorts? I think it's highly likely.

Iron Fist, aka Danny Rand, was a character borne out of the 1970s and America's fascination with martial arts, with Bruce Lee a superstar at the time. He's since gone on to star in a number of short lived series, most notably Power Man & Iron Fist which ran from 1977-1986.  His most recent series, The Immortal Iron Fist, ran from 2006-2009. Iron Fist has been a member of the Heroes for Hire, posed as Daredevil for a short while, and is currently a member of the New Avengers.

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