Jupiter's Legacy was meant to be the first major entry in Mark Millar's "Millarworld" shared universe of adaptations. Unfortunately, the Netflix series was cancelled soon after its first season was released, dropping these ambitions like a hot plate. The reasons for its cancellation were many, though they aren't quite what some fans or viewers might expect.
The show may not have been great, but its cancellation seemed to stem more from bungled behind the scenes issues than the show's ratings or reception. Considering this, perhaps Netflix should revisit the show with a more balanced framework in the future. As it stands, though, Jupiter's Legacy will likely remain (undeservedly) canned.
Why Was Jupiter's Legacy Cancelled?
Jupiter's Legacy was seen by critics and viewers as a mediocre at best series, with its plodding storytelling, cartoonish morality and occasionally laughable special effects bringing it down almost to the quality of the Arrowverse shows. Many assumed that this tepid reception was behind it's quick cancellation, though this was probably only part of the story.
Steven DeKnight, who notably worked on Netflix darling Daredevil, was the initial showrunner for Jupiter's Legacy. He requested a budget of around $12 million per episode, but was only granted $9 million. The wished-for budget, at 8 episodes, would have been almost $100 million for the series. This was around half of what was spent for all of the initial Marvel Netflix shows. When creative differences ran too high, DeKnight left the series, with Sang Kyu Kim being brought in to finish the job. Eventually, however, the budget would reach a total of $200 million, which was more than DeKnight ever asked for.
Netflix themselves were also in a sea of change at the time, as the VP of Original Content and two other key employees left the company during the production of Jupiter's Legacy. The show was quickly cancelled after these changes, despite the ratings being pretty decent, so it's likely that a combination of changing hands at Netflix, the production woes and audience's less than excited response to the show are behind the decision not to bring Jupiter's Legacy back.
Why Jupiter's Legacy Didn't Deserve to Be Cancelled
The show was admittedly meh for the most part, with many critics and viewers commenting that the scenes in the past were the best in the show. Despite its quality, and all of the production drama, the show arguably deserved one more season. With the behind the scenes issues mostly taken care of, the show would've had a smoother production the second time through. The showrunners also would have had a better idea of how to budget the series and make the most of their money.
Writing issues could have also been fixed. More emphasis could've been placed on the more interesting flashbacks, while the present day story could've dived into the well-received climax of the original book. This would have made both time periods interesting, and give the series more gravitas compared to the cheesiness of parts of Season 1.
Speaking of cheese, shows such as the aforementioned Arrowverse series' are chock full of lame special effects and generally questionable storytelling. They're also not ratings giants compared to network shows, even at their most popular. The first season of Jupiter's Legacy could have, in the long run, been a huge hit for Netflix, if they'd given it more than a month. One thing, however, is true. The budget for this show was much higher than the Arrowverse shows, despite not looking much better. In the end, it seems that the true legacy of Jupiter's Legacy will be to have been a mediocre series that was cut short before it had a chance to improve, becoming the victim of Netflix's tendency to kill shows quickly.