We here at Ars were quite pleased with the vastly improved second season of Iron Fist, arguably the least popular of all the Netflix Defenders series. The writing and fight choreography were better in season 2, the characters and their relations were more fully developed, and it had a thematically interesting premise in its exploration of the nature of power. Plus it ended with one hell of a plot twist.

So we were looking forward to how the writers built on all that in season 3. Alas, Netflix has abruptly canceled the series, informing the cast just a few hours after the odd decision, Deadline reports. It's the first time the axe has fallen for one of the Netflix Defenders series.

Here is the joint statement from Netflix and Marvel in full:

Marvel's Iron Fist will not return for a third season on Netflix. Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is proud of the series and grateful for all of the hard work from our incredible cast, crew and showrunners. We're thankful to the fans who have watched these two seasons, and for the partnership we've shared on this series. While the series on Netflix has ended, the immortal Iron Fist will live on.

That last sentence is interesting, since it implies that the characters might find their way onto another platform in a Marvel-owned property—perhaps even Disney's planned streaming service. In the meantime, the other three Defenders are still in the game. Season 3 of Daredevil drops next weekend (with the much-anticipated return of arch-villain Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin), Netflix has already ordered a third season of Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage should get a season 3 order soon.