Did Disney+ Censor The Defenders Saga Shows Like Daredevil Or Jessica Jones?
The news that Marvel's "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," "Iron Fist," "The Punisher," and "The Defenders" series (which are now being collectively referred to as "The Defenders Saga") were leaving Netflix came as a shock when it broke back on February 11, 2022. Even more surprising was the later announcement that they would be heading to Disney's own streaming service in the U.S. as well as Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Prior to that, the House of Mouse had prided itself on only hosting PG-13 or lower fare (along with the TV equivalents) on its streamer in the States, reserving its R-rated and TV-MA offerings for Hulu.
True to its word, it seems Disney hasn't censored "The Defenders Saga" for content, either. IGN confirmed as much upon conducting an "exhaustive comparison" between the many Defenders series on Netflix versus Disney+, finding that "Disney didn't remove anything from these shows." In fact, the only thing that seems to have changed are the service's parental controls. This allows users to adjust their profiles to either limit their access to a protected catalog of movies and series or allow for access to the streamer's complete library of titles.
Turns out, some superheroes are indeed f***ing
Produced by the now-defunct Marvel Television (which was folded into Marvel Studios in 2019), "The Defenders Saga" centers on the superheroes that populate New York City in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ... or, at least, NYC in one of the many MCU timelines that make up the Marvel multiverse (more on that in a bit). These shows were always meant to be grittier and more adult than the MCU's movies, tackling issues like sexual assault, Black masculinity, and emotional trauma head-on while also featuring proper sex scenes and some truly brutal acts of violence. At the same time, they never fully cross into R-rated terrain when it comes to nudity or language — as often as it feels like Jessica Jones, in particular, should absolutely be dropping f-bombs left and right.
Marvel Studios has finally begun to brings characters from these Defenders series into the MCU proper in Phase 4, with "Daredevil" actors Vincent D'Onofrio and Charlie Cox reprising their roles as Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, and Matt Murdock, AKA Daredevil, in the "Hawkeye" series and the movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home," respectively. At the same time, "The Defenders Saga" hasn't been added to the main MCU timeline on Disney+, suggesting these are different variants of these heroes and villains than the ones we've met before. That also explains why Kingpin's fighting tactics on "Hawkeye" mostly amounted to him tossing his enemies around (which is still very rude), as opposed to beating them bloody with his fists or decapitating them with a car door the way he did on "Daredevil."
Point being, as characters from "The Defenders Saga" continue to make their way over to the MCU's movies and series on Disney+ or, in Daredevil's case, potentially return in future MCU projects, fans shouldn't expect them to retain their hard edge or the darker elements of their backstories. Thankfully, though, you'll still be able to watch them in all their mature glory on their original shows, should you fancy it.