‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ Season 2: What We Know

Jupiter’s Legacy is in an odd position among Netflix original series vying for another season. On the one hand, the show has been massively popular in terms of viewership, but on the other, it has been an unmitigated critical flop. Between these two factors, it will come down to the small details to decide whether we get a Jupiter’s Legacy Season 2.

Jupiter’s Legacy was a massive investment for Netflix, adapting a superhero comic of the same name by writer Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely. It turns many of the tropes of the genre on their heads, leading many fans to compare it to The Boys over on Amazon or Watchmen on HBO. However, critics and most casual fans felt that it fell far short of those other productions, and of their expectations.

Nonetheless, Jupiter’s Legacy dominated Netflix’s popularity charts and stirred social media for weeks after its release. There is no denying that the show has generated interest — for better or for worse. This might mean that renewal is likely, especially if Netflix intends to get a greater return on its investment. Until the deal is announced for sure, fans will be holding their breath.

Jupiter’s Legacy Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix. Here’s what we know so far about the possibility of a Season 2.

Millar

The most direct commentary on a Jupiter’s Legacy renewal we’ve gotten so far comes from Millar himself, who gave an interview with ComicBook.com shortly after the premiere. He said: “We know where we’re going. I mean the books are a good template, The books are all sitting there for us so we have a very rough plan, but we know it all depends on, not to get too cocky, that the audience responds the way we think they will.”

“We feel good about it,” he continued. “We feel as if people are going to like this; the response so far has been amazing. So we really feel this has got a lot of likes, I think. So, yeah, we do. I mean, we talk privately all the time about what we’d like to do but nothing can be formal until we get our numbers.”

Aggregate

Another important consideration is the critical reception of the show — especially on review aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of this writing, the show has a discouraging 37 percent approval rating among critics, but a 72 percent rating among audiences. This might be good news overall since Netflix is sure to weigh audience enjoyment over critical accolades. Still, driving both of those numbers up would be much better.

Adaptation

It’s also worth noting that a big part of the reason studios make adaptations of comics or books in the first place is because the story is already there for them to draw on. In the case of Jupiter’s Legacy, that means there are ten issues to draw on, plus the spinoff series Jupiter’s Circle. Assuming Netflix bought the rights to all of these books, not adapting them would essentially mean wasting the money it has spent to acquire them.