Netflix Teams with Marvel for Original Superhero Shows

No one can accuse Netflix of sitting on its king of streaming content throne.

The new media giant just announced a major deal with Marvel Studios to bring four original series to the company to stream starting in 2015.

Marvel Entertainment President Alan Fine says the shows will be “a serialized epic” that begins with Marvel’s “Daredevil” and is followed by “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage.” It will conclude with a miniseries of “The Defenders.”

Netflix scored early and often with its initial foray into original content, witness well-received titles like Lilyhammer, Orange Is the New Black, Arrested Development and House of Cards. The Marvel move promises to capitalize on the still-booming superhero craze.

That isn’t the only aggressive move on the company’s docket. Netflix is also dabbling in 4K visual technology, or Ultra High Definition streaming.

During a recent earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said Netflix wants to be “one of the big suppliers of 4K content next year.”

As The Verge noted earlier this year, Netflix’s House of Cards was shot in 4K. “It’s being mastered in full HD, but the raw footage, or a good chunk of it, was shot in 4K, and we hope to have some House of Cards 4K encodes later this year,” Netflix told the blog.

Televisions and tablets utilizing 4K technology are rare at this point, but Netflix is positioning itself to be a player in the market should 4K products capture the consumer’s imagination in the coming years.

Netflix users also may have noticed a steadier stream of new content in recent weeks, showing the company is focusing both on today’s customers as well as those it attracts tomorrow.