For as long and Marvel and Netflix have been putting out series, we’ve had to wonder about release strategy. Two per year has remained the norm; first Daredevil and Jessica Jones in 2015, then Daredevil Season 2 and Luke Cage in 2016, and with Marvel now confirming renewal for the former, as well a Punisher spinoff, it seems all else will wait until after The Defenders.

Speaking from the TCA press tour, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos confirmed that where Luke Cage would premiere on September 30, both Iron Fist and The Defenders will occupy the two slots in 2017. Jessica Jones Season 2 was said to film back-to-back with The Defenders, with The Punisher starting production sometime thereafter, but Jones, Castle and the newly-announced Daredevil Season 3 will all wait until at least 2018.

That said, The Defenders will certainly allow fans to catch up with both Jessica Jones and Daredevil ahead of their new seasons, but what of Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, who crashed the Luke Cage panel at Comic-Con 2016, but was otherwise excluded from the Defenders teaser?

We have our own ideas on what Jessica Jones Season 2 might explore, while Daredevil star Charlie Cox previously spoke of two villains he’d like to see in a potential third season. It remains to be seen if Netflix would expand its Marvel slate to three series in 2018 to include Punisher, let alone additional orders for Luke Cage or Iron Fist.

Will 2018 be otherwise worth the long wait for new individual Defender series?