With the release of Season 2 of The Punisher, many fans are preparing for what seems like the inevitable news of the series’ cancellation. Though it produced some of the hottest shows in Hollywood, the Netflix/Marvel agreement has ended with a whimper, as Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Daredevil were recently canceled. But a surprise contender has stepped up to express interest in saving Marvel Television's greatest underdogs -- but don't get too excited.

Hulu is no stranger to Marvel’s properties; its the current home of Runaways, a live-action adaptation that has built a solid fanbase by straying from and expanding upon the source material. Th streamer also recently announced a slate of four animated Marvel properties joining its growing library, and has apparently expressed interest in adding the Netflix Defenders universe to its service.

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"Marvel has a ton of titles we’d be interested in," Hulu Senior VP of Originals Craig Erwich said when asked about possibly reviving the canceled Netflix series during a presentation for the Television Critics Association. "It kind of just depends on when they’re ready, [and] who, most importantly, is going to be behind these things."

Who and when are the key points to take away from Erwich’s comments. The logistics of taking a property so firmly entrenched with a streaming giant like Netflix are staggering, and more than a little improbable.

It definitely makes sense for these characters to come to Hulu. After all, Hulu’s relationship with Disney and, by extension Marvel, is stronger than ever. Not only does the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox mean Marvel will get back film rights to big players like X-Men and the Fantastic Four, it means Disney will have a 60% stake in Hulu. This has led to the studio creating a roadmap for the streaming service to host mature content it wouldn’t typically feature in the MCU, and makes the addition of titles like Jessica Jones and The Punisher a seemingly easy lock.

The fact of the matter is, the mature nature of the shows puts them at a disadvantage right out the gate. While Disney may be eyeing Hulu as a home for content that is not exactly family-friendly, the Netflix shows reveled in the looser standards afforded the streaming service. Daredevil shocked viewers when it opened with Kingpin brutally murdering a thug with a car door, and only scaled up from there. Jessica Jones dabbled in the loss of self-control and created a uniquely self-destructive heroine. The most recent Punisher season featured some of the most violent sequences to date, including one particularly gruesome weight room brawl.

But it’s not just the series' adult nature that makes them an unlikely fit for Hulu. After all, the upcoming animated slate, headlined by a Kevin Smith-penned Howard the Duck series, are aimed explicitly at an adult audience. What the animation initiative does prove, though, is a desire for a wider audience. The Netflix titles have proven to be incredibly popular, but ratings (or the streaming equivalent) are king, and trying the same thing again and again, hasn’t really proven an unmitigated successful.

NEXT PAGE: The Other Reason Hulu (Probably) Wont Pick Up Netflix's Canceled Marvel Shows

Despite critical acclaim, each new Marvel season on Netflix saw viewership plummet.
Despite critical acclaim, each new Marvel season on Netflix saw viewership plummet.

At the end of the day, the returns on these titles were dropping every year. Luke Cage, whose first season was hailed as a triumph for the Netflix originals, saw viewership drop by 59% for Season 2. Iron Fist, which had far less favorable reviews, saw a 64% drop in viewership for it’s abbreviated second season.

Daredevil met a similar fate. Despite Season 3 being the most anticipated to date thanks to it adapting elements of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's seminal comic “Born Again,” Matt Murdock’s latest hurrah lost 57% of the second season's audience. This is a particularly damning number, as Netflix has cited the show's second season as the most watched season of the Netflix/Marvel agreement, and even it couldn't maintain a lock on viewers.

Even The Punisher, whose second season proved to be better received tan the first, has not proven immune. Though it saw less of a drop than other series, it still reportedly lost 40% of its viewers. For a network to pick up these shows, the risk may be much greater than the reward. After all, why would you pick up a show that's regularly losing half its viewership every time you drop a new batch of episodes?

The casting choices that have kept fans so attached to these series may be coming to an end, as well. Contracts have expiration dates, and actors find other jobs when they aren’t attached to a project. While not much is known about the details of the contracts, an early Variety report following Daredevil’s cancellation included mention of a 2-year clause. This means that these incarnations of the characters can’t appear on any non-Netflix film or television project for 2 years following cancellation.

The two-year clause almost guarantees the end of the versions of these characters. Actors like Charlie Cox and Mike Colter’s contracts will be lapsing soon, if they haven’t already, and with no guaranteed future they aren’t likely to sign on for another season (Colter's already indicated as much). And while Marvel has already made it known it isn't afraid to recast secondary roles for their film universe, recasting these major parts and moving them to a new network is a tall order, and just further points towards an inevitable reboot.

The future is bright for most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Runaways and Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger are both being well received, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is experiencing a surprise renaissance, and the release of Avengers: Endgame is poised to redefine the MCU, boosting the entire franchise to unprecedented heights. For the Netflix wing, though, it’s looking more and more likely that the lights are going to be turned off for good. The Punisher reviewed well, but it’s cancellation feels all but imminent, and while Jessica Jones has a third season filmed and ready for release, it’s likely its cancellation announcement is simply being held until after it's aired, in order to discourage viewers from tuning out.

RELATED: Jessica Jones Season 3 Targets Summer Release Date

Marvel and Disney have a unique opportunity, essentially being forced to reboot a number of MCU characters, something which has yet to be done on this scale. The film and television components of the universe have long been disparate, but with the advent of the streaming Disney+ and the boosted name recognition these characters now enjoy, that could finally change. Is it really that bad to reboot these characters as family-friendly versions who can appear in MCU projects?

All episodes of The Punisher season 2, starring Jon Bernthal, Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah, Jason R. Moore, Josh Stewart, Floriana Lima and Giorgia Whigham are now available on Netflix.