Sweet Christmas

A week after axing IronFist, Netflix has announced that Luke Cage will go the way of Danny Rand.

According to Vanity Fair, the streaming giant is continuing to slim down its Marvel properties, cancelingthe bullet-proof Harlem heavyweight after just two seasons. The show received mild (at best) critical reception, provided a pre-Moonlight introduction toMahershala Ali, and featured a score by Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

READ: Netflix Cancels Marvel's Iron Fist

It's a move not inconsistent with Disney's vision of a proprietary streaming service. The Mouse already owns Marvel, recently adding Fox to its arsenal in a massive $71.3 billion merger. With four series left (Daredevil, Defenders, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher,) it's likely we'll see Luke and Danny return in some shape or form before Marvel's Netflix presence is erased altogether in favor of its imminent competitor.

Disney's streaming service is slated to launch at the top of 2019 with a Jon Favreau-directed Star Wars trilogy and a pair of Marvel series already in development for Loki and Scarlet Witch. All of which is to say, the binge-watching wars are on and Disney appears to have it in the bag.