When Marvel Studios and Netflix first announced their plan to release four new, live-action series featuring “street-level” superheroes from Marvel’s universe that would eventually lead to a team-up series, the notion seemed more than ambitious. But if we’ve learned anything by now, it’s that Marvel has a knack for turning unlikely (and some might say impossible) properties into bona fide blockbusters.
And now here we are, with The Defenders set to premiere August 18 on Netflix.
The eight-episode miniseries brings together the four titular heroes of Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) for an adventure that promises to not only pit them against a common foe, but also to merge their respective series into a more clearly defined part of Marvel’s cinematic universe set in and around New York City.
The Defenders also brings back much of the supporting cast from the four series, as well as showrunner Marco Ramirez, who served as showrunner for the second season of Daredevil. Sigourney Weaver will play the series’ mysterious villain, known only as “Alexandra.”
Here’s everything else we know about The Defenders so far.
Light it up
In a last-minute push, Netflix unveiled yet another new trailer (above) on August 17, just one day ahead of the show’s premiere. The most intense promo yet, the preview focuses less on the forming of the bond between the series’ stars and more on the danger that they face. Alexandra, in particular, is full of ominous comments.
“The more connections you have, the easier it will be to break you,” she tells them, for example.
Summon your chi or whatever. 13 hours to go. #DEFEND pic.twitter.com/tSXcCCp719
— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) August 17, 2017
And Alexandra’s words get scarier. She hints at a huge loss of life, warning the superhero foursome that they need to think something through, because “New York is so densely populated.”
Her implied threat comes to fruition in the trailer. We see several worrisome images, including glimpses of an explosion, first responders trying to deal with the aftermath of a huge emergency, and, of course, the Defenders fighting. We also get fast-tempo orchestral music that ratchets up the intensity. And if that somehow wasn’t enough, other snippets raise the stakes, reminding us of what these characters have to lose.
The trailer really lights it up, just like Danny Rand (Jones) and his fist of fury.
There is no “we” in “team”
At San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, Netflix released a second trailer for the upcoming series, showing off the team that isn’t quite a team. The preview highlights the reluctance of the superheroes to work together.
“I’m not looking for superfriends,” Luke Cage (Mike Colter) says at one point.
“There is no ‘we,'” Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) adds at another.
Yet, in spite of their protests and reluctance, they have a common enemy, the villainous Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver). As shown in the trailer, she’s clearly dangerous and has no qualms about destroying cities as she goes about her evil plan.
It looks like they have no choice but to become a “we.”
“The greatest stories ever told”
About a month ahead of the premiere of Marvel’s The Defenders, Netflix promoted the crime-fighting team with a new teaser featuring Marvel legend Stan Lee. The video, shared by The Punisher‘s Twitter account, shows Lee riding around the streets of New York City amid scenes of the Defenders in action. While he does so, he offers commentary, describing superhero tales as the “greatest stories ever told” and highlighting what makes them special.
Sir, yes sir. pic.twitter.com/PpCeLPISpp
— The Punisher (@ThePunisher) July 20, 2017
The promo’s footage is mainly of the Defenders working separately, as they (mostly) did in their respective series, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. In fact, the teaser isn’t explicitly a promo for The Defenders series itself; it promotes the four shows leading up to the crossover, while also drumming up interest in the heroes as a team. The upcoming Marvel series The Punisher even gets a plug, too.
All together now
With just two months until the premiere of The Defenders, Netflix released a pair of promotional images for the miniseries featuring its four protagonists.
The first image is a mostly black-and-white poster for the series with all four characters — Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Danny Rand (Finn Jones) — standing together.
Accompanying that poster was an animated image Netflix posted on Twitter with all four characters in action. The moving images of the actors are accompanied by the opening chords of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.”
“There’s no ‘us’ in team. #DEFEND” reads the caption for the image.
There's no 'us' in team. #DEFEND pic.twitter.com/jOFJUyYilq
— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) June 22, 2017
Fans got an earlier look at the team assembled in a photo that debuted in Empire in mid-May. The image features all four heroes gathered in a very familiar setting: The same elevator they were seen getting into in one of the first pieces of footage released a month earlier.
As eagle-eyed fans will certainly note, Luke Cage appears to be wearing his now-standard, bullet-riddled sweatshirt, but it’s uncertain whether it’s one of the many sweatshirts he’s similarly wrecked (and passed along to friends and admirers), or a new one that’s been freshly perforated.
The first trailer
The first, official trailer for The Defenders was released on May 3, and the preview offered a good indication of the dynamic within the teamed-up Marvel characters who have otherwise operated relatively independently up to this point.
The trailer also provided a peek at the return of Elodie Yung as back-from-the-dead assassin Elektra and the sinister, still-mysterious villain named Alexandra, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver.
The return of …
It was already confirmed by Netflix that Elodie Yung’s assassin Elektra would reprise her Daredevil role in The Defenders, but the official Twitter account for the series posted a tease of exactly how the character will overcome her less-than-healthy status when last we saw her.
Oh, great. #DEFEND pic.twitter.com/PT4ldeiFRP
— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) May 2, 2017
Elevator action and a secret code
In early April 2017, Netflix released a short teaser for The Defenders with all four featured characters interacting in an elevator, as seen through a security camera. Along with featuring the first footage of the group together, the video also held a few secrets.
After Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is seen dismantling the camera, the timestamp on the footage stops at “08:18:20:17” — a number that was quickly confirmed to be the show’s release date (o8/18/2017).
The teaser also included an indirect clue to finding the homepage of the fictional New York City newspaper The New York Bulletin, which appears to chronicle some of the key events that unfolded during the four characters’ solo series.
Familiar faces
Along with the quartet of solo series stars returning for The Defenders, many of the supporting characters — both heroes and villains — have also been confirmed for roles in the crossover adventure. Netflix revealed several of the miniseries’ returning characters via the official Twitter account for The Defenders in late 2016.
Assemble your allies: #EldenHenson, @AnnapurnaLiving and @ekadarville are back for The #Defenders. pic.twitter.com/mqDHtP5CZL
— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) November 1, 2016
Among the confirmed cast members reprising roles will be Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Scott Glenn as Stick (Daredevil’s mysterious mentor), Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse (Jessica Jones’ neighbor), Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker, Elodie Yung as Elektra, and Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing.
Also returning for the miniseries is Defenders glue Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple — the only character to appear in all four series.
Old friendships die hard. @_Rachael_Taylor, #ScottGlenn, and @rosariodawson return for The #Defenders pic.twitter.com/KiZWwXikJ6
— The Defenders (@TheDefenders) November 2, 2016
The big bad
What threat could be so deadly that it requires the attention of not one but four of Marvel’s heroes? The answer takes the form of one of sci-fi’s most iconic heroes: Sigourney Weaver.
Weaver’s Defenders role was announced during the Marvel Television panel at New York Comic-Con in October 2016. After Marvel TV’s executive vice president, Jeph Loeb, welcomed each of the four stars of the series to the stage, he then surprised the crowd by introducing Weaver.
“We’ve not told you who the villain of The Defenders is,” Loeb said. “And the reason for that is because we needed to find somebody that could take on all these guys. She doesn’t require any introduction anywhere she goes in the world. She’ll be joining The Defenders cast. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Miss Sigourney Weaver.”
In January 2017, Entertainment Weekly released the first official image of Weaver from the series, and identified her character as “Alexandra.”
It’s still unknown exactly what sort of character the Aliens franchise star will play in The Defenders, but she’s expected to have ties to the mysterious organization known as The Hand that has tormented many of the individual series’ heroes both directly and indirectly in their own shows.
Behind the lens
Along with all of the familiar faces in front of the camera, The Defenders also brings back director S.J. Clarkson behind the camera.
The director of the first two, critically acclaimed episodes of Jessica Jones (pictured), Clarkson will serve a similar role on The Defenders, helming the first two episodes of the eight-episode series. The announcement regarding her attachment to the series was made in November 2016 by Netflix and Marvel.
“S.J.’s take on the material is outstanding,” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s head of television, in an official statement. “We loved her work on Marvel’s Jessica Jones and couldn’t think of a more talented and accomplished person to helm the first two episodes of Marvel’s The Defenders.”
Defenders through history
The team known as The Defenders made its Marvel Comics debut in a 1971 issue of the Marvel Feature series, and was initially conceived as a group of otherwise independent characters united by Doctor Strange to combat magical threats beyond the abilities of more conventional teams. The rotating roster for the team typically consisted of Doctor Strange, Hulk, and various other characters — frequently including Namor (the Sub-Mariner), Silver Surfer, Valkyrie, Hellcat, Beast (formerly of the X-Men), and Luke Cage, among other notable heroes from the Marvel Comics universe.
The team was disbanded and reformed multiple times over the years, and for a variety of purposes. Never a truly A-list team, The Defenders will receive an-all new comic series later this year featuring the team from the Netflix series. Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Marquez will team up for Marvel’s The Defenders series comics, which will mirror the live-action show with Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist as its core members.
The Defenders miniseries premieres August 18 on Netflix.
Updated on 08-17-2017 by Stephanie Topacio Long: Added new trailer.
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