Marvel Studios has reclaimed the rights to the heroes Jessica Jones and the Punisher two years after their respective series were canceled, officially ending their tenure at Netflix. This means that they can now appear in projects produced by the Disney-owned studio.
Jones and the Punisher were a part of the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which also included series based on Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. The agreement between Marvel and the streamer stated that the rights to any of these characters would revert back to Marvel Studios two years after that hero's respective series was canceled, which, for Jessica Jones and The Punisher, occurred on Feb. 18, 2019.
There right to Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron fist — and their associated characters — reverted back to Marvel in late 2020, and there are already reports that Charlie Cox's Man Without Fear will play a small role in the upcoming Spider-Man 3 and Disney+'s She-Hulk. There are also rumors that Jessica Jones will appear in that series.
Marvel Studios Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige has been his usual vague self when it comes to confirming whether or not the Netflix characters will live on through Disney+ or the big screen. However, he did say that "Everything is on the board" when it comes to the possibility of these heroes returning. "That's one of the fun things about the comics is that characters would appear and disappear and come and go. All of it is inspiration for the future. There are some great characters and actors from those shows."
Jessica Jones premiered on Nov. 20, 2015, with Krysten Ritter in the titular role. The series received praise for its approach to topics related to rape and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and aired for a total of three seasons. Ritter also reprised the role for Netflix's The Defenders, which saw Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil team up to defeat the Hand.
Jon Bernthal made his debut as Frank Castle / the Punisher in Daredevil Season 2 before getting a spinoff of his own in the form of The Punisher. The series premiered on Nov. 17, 2017 and ran for two seasons.
Source: Murphy's Multiverse