The Marvel TV gods have been hard at work, intricately setting up the Netflix dominoes with such precision, it’s a wonder we mere mortals have been able to pick out the omens, the most recent occurring on April 4, 2017.
Netflix released a teaser vaguely entitled “Midland Circle Security Elevator B” that signaled the coming of Marvel’s The Defenders, as we soon realize that the four elevator riders are Matt Murdoch/Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Danny Rand/Iron Fist.
Daredevil was Netflix’s first chapter leading up to the Defenders mini-series, setting the stage with two seasons of the chronicles of the blind lawyer/vigilante Matt Murdoch. Star Charlie Cox has said that Season 2 perfectly sets Murdoch up for The Defenders, which takes place mere weeks after Elektra’s death in the finale; Murdoch finally starts to learn that he needs other people.
Jessica Jones told the story of a volatile young woman traumatized by mind controlling villain, Kilgrave, masterly played by Doctor Who’s David Tennant. Having dispatched her nemesis at the end of Season 1, Jessica gets back to life as a private investigator with no desire to save the world. Both Charlie Cox and Krysten Ritter have foreseen a “cat and mouse” dynamic between Murdoch and Jones, given their alpha personalities.
Luke Cage, whose back story intertwined with Jessica Jones with the death of his love at her mind controlled hands (and continued in the two heroes’ romance), found himself at the end of his first season in the perfect position for a different approach to life. Colter has foreshadowed Cage having a mentor relationship to Danny Rand.
Iron Fist, a.k.a. billionaire Buddhist, martial arts whirlwind Danny Rand, similarly finds himself ready to mature and grow under the tutelage of a sagely Luke Cage.
Other characters from the four, interconnected series also appearing in The Defenders will be: Malcolm Ducasse (Eka Darville), Misty Knight (Simone Missick), Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), Stick (Scott Glenn), Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor), Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick). The venerable Sigourney Weaver will take on the role of villain Alexandra, and of course, there will be a mandatory cameo by Stan Lee!
The teaser itself showcases some Illuminati level cleverness: When Jessica Jones turns on the security camera, the timestamp is 08:18:20:17, or August 18, 2017 – the premiere of The Defenders. Moreover, when you click on the URL in the top left corner, you are brought to a fresh website that features a compilation of an interview with Joy and Ward Meachum, a commercial for Colleen Wing’s dojo, and “New York Bulletin” headlines about various events that have occurred in the four series.
Well played, Marvel and Netflix!
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