Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has shared his thoughts on the streamer’s Marvel shows and the challenges behind the scenes. Netflix hosted Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, along with the crossover series Defenders. Today, however, Marvel TV has found its home on Disney Plus.
I think they are. I mean, I don’t know because they don’t release any numbers,
Sarandos told Variety when asked if he thought Disney Plus’s Marvel TV shows are successful
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.
he continuedAdvertisement
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.
He added of what he learned:
This isn’t too surprising, given Perlmutter’s reputation for being extremely frugal and reluctant to spend beyond what he deemed necessary. His approach played a major role in Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige requesting Disney CEO Bob Iger to separate Marvel Studios from Perlmutter and the Marvel Entertainment Creative Committee.
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While the Defenders lineup had room for improvement, the shows were largely successful. More importantly, they introduced Daredevil, paving the way for Daredevil: Born Again—a win in the end.
Netflix’s Marvel characters are gradually joining the MCU. Daredevil has appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk, and now stars in Daredevil: Born Again. Kingpin showed up in Hawkeye and Echo, while Punisher is back in Born Again and is set to get his own special.
Meanwhile, Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter has expressed interest in returning to Marvel—but whether she’ll don the leather jacket again remains to be seen.