Marvel's Scope Is Far Larger Than Anyone Realized

Marvel has dropped the television bomb of a lifetime. In an unheard of move, the company has commissioned 4 dramas and a mini-series to be produced by Netflix in 2015. The series will begin with a reboot of famed character Dardevil and lead into shows featuring characters Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. These 4 will then lead into a miniseries event titled The Defenders. This deal makes it clear Marvel is planning on using Netflix to bring their Avengers business model (creating solo-characters and combining them) to television. While this is great news for fans, it also has another effect. This move shows the scope of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is far larger than anyone realized, and that Marvel is actively thinking about how to handle their more mature line of characters.

Until this morning it was all quiet on the Marvel Television front. The last anyone heard, the company was pitching a top-secret 60 episode package to a variety of networks including WGN America, Amazon and Netflix. Clearly Netflix won the bidding war, but analysts were skeptical following the release of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The series isn't bad, but it’s not what people (thought they) wanted. The show is extremely lighthearted and family friendly. It’s more PG Marvel than PG-13 and has done moderate ratings since its inflated premiere. The Clark Gregg led series has caused many to question if Marvel understands what they should be doing on the television front: bringing smaller, harder to produce characters to life.

Essentially, if a Marvel character would require an R-rated movie to be faithfully adapted, it should be on television. That’s the gist of most analysts out there, and it appears Marvel feels the same way. Especially in the case of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, none of these characters would work all that well in the glossy world of Whedon’s Avengers. These characters require the grit and mature film-making we often see from the likes of basic and premium cable. This move says, among other things, that Marvel wants to play across the board. They want to make content not just of the entire family, but also for adults, maybe even kids too (looking at you Squirrel Girl). Marvel has solved the R-rated problem and, if successful, could blow the doors open for name characters like Blade, Punisher and Ghost Rider.

Since these shows will also be set in the MCU, it makes this deal one more giant step by Marvel into a business model built on the idea of transmedia. Started with Coulson’s (and Maria Hill’s) return to the screen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel wants to grow its universe into something no one would have ever dreamed of. They want the ability to move characters between productions and mediums, which they've already begun doing with the likes of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow who’s appeared in films for Iron Man, The Avengers and now Captain America.

If you didn't believe it before, believe it now, Marvel isn't just out to change the game, they’re out to make a new one. They want to build a whole new business model. One that isn't just reliant on a single franchise, but on a whole network of characters that exist across multiple series in multiple mediums. There’s no other way to describe it than by simply saying, wow.