With 'Iron Fist' To Begin Filming Later This Year, Will We Get Four Marvel Netflix Shows In 2018?

Marvel's partnership with Netflix has proved to be a tremendous success, and the first wave of shows is due to come to a head later this month in The Defenders. According to the Governor's Office of Motion Picture & Television Development in New York, though, things are only going to get better. Marvel and Netflix are adding 23 more episodes to be filmed this year, which will bring the total numbers of episodes shot in New York City to a whopping 135. Beginning with the filming of Daredevil's first season in 2014, this has now officially become the largest television commitment in the history of New York.

Jessica Jones Season 2 and Luke Cage Season 2 are already shooting, and according to Deadline, an additional 23 episodes will also be shot for Daredevil Season 3 and Iron Fist Season 2. Amusingly enough, Sacha Dhawan — who played Davos in Season 1 of Iron Fist — told ScreenGeek that Marvel was hoping to start filming in December. As he noted, though, "things [are] always changing," and the show looks set to start production a lot sooner.

What Does This Mean?

If these reports are right, then it's entirely possible — indeed, likely — that #Marvel is planning to release Iron Fist Season 4 next year. That means Marvel would have four shows lined up on their Netflix slate next year:

• Jessica Jones Season 2, which started filming back in April
• Luke Cage Season 2, which started filming back in June
• Daredevil Season 3, believed to start filming in October
• Iron Fist Season 2, due to begin filming later this year

Most Marvel Netflix shows take about five months to film, and they aren't typically heavily edited. As a result, you usually get only a short gap between the end of filming and the show's release. Take the example of The Punisher, which is expected to stream in November this year, and only finished filming in April. It really does seem possible that all four of these Marvel Netflix shows will stream in 2018.

It's a pretty staggering change in approach for Netflix. Back in 2015, Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos explained how the streaming service would handle the Marvel shows.

"I think ideally there will be a rhythm of about every six months you’ll get a new season or a new series from the Defenders group. And then they’ll crossover into a combined [Defenders] season once we’ve launched the first season of each of the four characters."

That said, with Netflix increasingly focusing on original content and Marvel's series proving tremendously popular, it makes sense for the company to double-down on Marvel content. We've already seen them switch this approach up in 2017, with Iron Fist releasing earlier this year, The Defenders on its way, and The Punisher rounding out 2017. Next year looks set to see an even more accelerated schedule, sure to delight Marvel fans.

Right now, of course, we don't have any firm release dates. Still, Marvel and Netflix clearly have a long-term plan that will mean they have almost four complete seasons filmed by the end of the year. With the 10-year anniversary of the #MCU on the cards, it would be a joy to celebrate that with not three but four Marvel Netflix shows. We'll keep you up-to-date as we learn more.

[Sources: Deadline, ScreenGeek, The Tracking Board, Variety]