Superheroes and Netflix are coming to the rescue of New York’s economy.
Just a just a day after Manhattan banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase announced it’s shedding thousands of jobs worldwide, Gov. Cuomo announced a deal with Disney, Marvel and Netflix to film its “Defenders” TV series in the Big Apple.
The “flawed heroes of Hell’s Kitchen” series — produced by Marvel TV in association with ABC studios — will feature characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
The multi-year TV pact will include 60 one-hour episodes that start airing on Netflix in 2015. Filming starts in July.
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said New York was “aggressive” in wooing the company to what state officials described as the “largest film or television production project commitment in New York State history.”
Officials estimated the company would spend $200 million on the new series.
Cuomo was so thrilled by the announcement that he even suggested a sequel with a new superhero.
“Boy from Queens . . . goes to Albany to fight the evil empire and bring justice to the people of the state,” he quipped during the Times Square press conference.
Asked what superpowers he possessed, Cuomo deadpanned, “superior intelligence.”
The governor said the dramatic loss of jobs on Wall Street after the recession was a “wake-up call” for New York to diversify its economy and not be so reliant on the financial -services sector for tax revenue and jobs. The growth of the film industry, he said, is important.
Marvel/Disney, which will benefit from New York’s film tax-credit program, estimates the new venture will create 400 full-time jobs and 3,000 part-time ones. Sources told Variety that the state is granting Disney about $4 million in tax credits.
The entertainment players involved in crafting the deal have New York roots, including Iger and Marvel’s creative guru Joe Quesada.