Thanks to the success of "Daredevil," Marvel is considering a handful of other popular anti-heroes for Phase II of their Netflix expansion. Phase I will likely conclude with the "Defenders" miniseries sometime in 2017. After that, the Punisher, Blade and Ghost Rider could be next, according to Heroic Hollywood. However, those properties pose a fair amount of problems for Marvel.
"The power that be at Marvel have also been toying with the idea of adding characters like Punisher, Blade and Ghost Riders, but there are risks with each of those characters," Umberto Gonzalez wrote. "Not only are they darker and more violent, but two of them require supernatural elements to tell their stories. The inclusion of these characters could send Netflix over to the goofy side, which is something they're very afraid of. Ghost Rider would also rely on CGI too much for the studio's taste.
"It would also be difficult to incorporate the stories of these characters smoothly. Blade and Punisher are perceived to be rather one-not to carry a series on their own. The heavy level of violence is also perceived to be a risk. They want a 'hard PG-13' instead of an R. And since none of the Defenders actively kill, throwing Punisher in the mix could be a challenge."
"The Punisher" and "Ghost Rider" each failed to connect with critics and moviegoers over the span of a handful of films. However, it must be remembered that these movies came out before Marvel had constructed its shared Cinematic Universe. "Blade" enjoyed a solid amount of success with its franchise, but would be the most difficult to incorporate into the MCU due to its horror elements.
Whether or not these characters receive more support from Marvel will depend largely on the continued success of Marvel's properties on Netflix. "AKA Jessica Jones" is expected to debut sometime this year. Let's revisit the future of Marvel's television properties after that.
