‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ could give Netflix its own version of the Avengers

Last summer, Marvel Studios finished removing all of its movies from Netflix and transporting them to Disney+, where they will remain alongside all of the new shows the studio is producing set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This came as no surprise after Disney revealed that it would be launching its own streaming service, but it does leave a hole on Netflix that was previously filled with some of Marvel’s biggest blockbusters.

Filling that hole is an incredibly tall task, but few tasks are too tall for Netflix, which despite losing Marvel movies to Disney+, Friends to HBO Max, and The Office to Peacock, is still the top dog in the streaming world. One of the ways Netflix plans to replace the seemingly irreplaceable Marvel filmography is with its own superhero cinematic universe of sorts. Back in 2017, Netflix acquired Mark Millar’s Millarworld imprint and announced plans to turn the comic book franchises into shows and movies. The first of those shows will be Jupiter’s Legacy.

Jupiter’s Legacy is a 10-issue comic book series written by Mark Millar and first published in 2013. Mark Millar might be best known for Kingsman and Kick-Ass, both of which spawned successful film franchises, but he’s also frequently worked for Marvel, where he wrote the comics that inspired the movies Captain America: Civil War and Logan. Millar is clearly no stranger to successful conversions from page to screen, and now one of his lesser-known properties is going to have a chance to compete with the likes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:

“After nearly a century of keeping mankind safe, the world’s first generation of superheroes must look to their children to continue the legacy,” reads the synopsis. “But tensions rise as the young superheroes, hungry to prove their worth, struggle to live up to their parents’ legendary public reputations — and exacting personal standards.”

Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, Ben Daniels, Elena Kampouris, Andrew Horton, Mike Wade, Matt Lanter, and Ian Quinlan will star in the Netflix adaptation, with Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil) running the show.

This is one of many higher-concept, higher-budget sci-fi and fantasy series debuting on Netflix this year. Any of those shows could find a massive audience, but the market for superhero content is obviously at an all-time high. If Jupiter’s Legacy can catch fire, perhaps Netflix could mine it for years to come like Amazon is now doing with The Boys. Again, there are only ten issues of the Jupiter’s Legacy comic — as well as a 12-issue spinoff series called Jupiter’s Circle — but Netflix could always build upon the story Millar told to kickstart a Jupiter cinematic universe.

All of that said, Jupiter’s Legacy needs to make a splash before it can think about challenging Marvel’s throne. The original Netflix series debuts on the streaming service on Friday, May 7th.