Disney+ has restored tributes to the late Stan Lee and Reg E. Cathey in The Punisher and Luke Cage, respectively.
Earlier in April 2022, it was discovered that the streaming service had removed the two tributes from their respective appearances in the second season finales of The Punisher and Luke Cage. When fans caught wind of the decision, they were displeased, to say the least. Following the backlash, the two memorial tributes once again adjoin these two series in "The Defenders Saga."
Stan Lee passed away on Nov. 12, 2018. After the Marvel icon's death, The Punisher was the first show in the Defenders Saga to release its next season on Jan. 18, 2019, featuring a title card reading "In Loving Memory of Stan Lee" during the credits of the episode "The Whirlwind." Reg E. Cathey, who played Luke Cage's father in hero's solo series, passed away on Feb. 9, 2018 ahead of Season 2's release, which includes Cathey's tribute in the credits of "They Reminisce Over You."
It is still unclear what prompted the removal of these two tributes, though it isn't the first time Disney+ has edited the former Netflix series on their new streaming home. After some shoddy work on an episode of Jessica Jones, fans discovered that the Netflix logo was scrubbed from each series' opening credit sequences following their debut on the platform. Of course, the arrival of the TV-MA series also prompted some changes to the platform itself, which updated its parental controls on the same day.
Whether these series will see any sort of revival remains to be seen. For a moment, it seemed that Daredevil was officially canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe being that Matthew Murdock's live-action biography on Marvel's website was updated to include both the events of the series and the character's appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Marvel has since removed the mention of No Way Home from Murdock's television timeline.
While Daredevil star Charlie Cox is rumored and reported to reprise his role in numerous upcoming MCU projects, there is no word on whether actors Mike Colter and/or Jon Bernthal will return as Luke Cage and Frank Castle, respectively. Bernthal did react to The Punisher landing on Disney+, but there has been no word from the actor on whether he has been asked to return any time soon. As for Colter, the actor revealed back in late 2020 that he had not been approached about returning, but that he'd "love to."
Both The Punisher and Luke Cage are now streaming on Disney+ along with the rest of the Defenders Saga.
Source: Disney+