Luke Cage, the third of Netflix’s Marvel series, will see the first and second seasons leave Netflix globally on March 1st, 2022, with the rights reverting back to Disney.
Before becoming the protector of Harlem, we first saw the character of Luke Cage debuted on Netflix in the first season of Jessica Jones in November 2015. Less than a year later, in September 2016, Luke Cage was back for his very own superhero outing on the streets of Harlem.
Thanks to the overwhelming success of the first two seasons of Daredevil, and the first season of Jessica Jones, there was a lot of expectation surrounding the release of Luke Cage. Sadly, in the eyes of many, the series did not live up to expectations and suffered heavily from an early exit of villain Cottonmouth, who was portrayed excellently by future Academy Award-winning actor, Maharshala Ali. Despite the criticisms of the first season, the second season was green-lit and eventually arrived in June 2018.
With practically no news surrounding the renewals of Luke Cage and Iron Fist in the weeks after arriving on Netflix, the cracks had begun to show, and it soon felt like the beginning of the end of the Marvel shows on Netflix. However, at the time, there was still hope in the shape of Daredevil, The Punisher, and Jessica Jones, but once Netflix declared that season 3 of Daredevil would be it’s last, very soon all of the remaining Marvel shows would suffer the same fate.
In the end, Netflix’s declining relationship with Disney, and the latter’s ambitious plans for the release of its own streaming service, Disney+ in late 2019, would ultimately see the end of the Marvel Netflix shows.
All of the series related to The Defenders including The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Daredevil will all be leaving Netflix in March 2022.
When is Luke Cage scheduled to leave Netflix?
At the time of publishing, both seasons of Luke Cage will leave Netflix globally on March 1st, 2022.
Netflix has confirmed to us at What’s on Netflix that Luke Cage will be leaving on March 1st, and the rights will revert back to Disney.
Netflix has now confirmed to What’s on Netflix that all of The Defenders series are set to leave on March 1st and the rights are reverting back to Disney. https://t.co/3c4rPN5fJs
— What’s on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) February 11, 2022
Below is the removal notice that is displayed when streaming the first episode of Luke Cage:
Where will Luke Cage be available to stream next?
Naturally, the next expected home of Luke Cage would be Disney+, however, there is a recent history of older Marvel content being sent to Hulu instead.
Given Disney+ has an entire library dedicated to Marvel, and the recent reintroduction of some of the Netflix Marvel show characters in new MCU content, it would make the most sense if Luke Cage lands on Disney+.