The Defenders will be the first series from Marvel on Netflix that combines all of the heroes we’ve been introduced to so far in one series. The story has been developing for the show over the past few seasons although it’s been hidden quite well. It’s Netflix’s equivalent of the first Avengers movie so it, therefore, has a lot riding on it. We’re going to dissect everything and give you the definitive preview below.
Welcome to the What’s on Netflix preview of The Defenders season 1.
The Defenders Teaser Trailer Dissection
Netflix released a teaser trailer for the show seven months ago at SDCC. Although it was only a minute long, the trailer had a boat load of information inside of it. We’ll let you watch it first then we’ll get into the details.
The paper tearing trailer obviously reveals the names of each of The Defenders, but even the music holds hidden meaning. The song called Come As You Are has lyrics that pertain to the four heroes coming together. Even the points at which each line is sung is relevant as covered in a second. Whether it’s telling Daredevil to come as you are which makes sense given Daredevil has had trouble with his identity in the past.
The peeling itself is a reveal of the characters hidden identity. For each of the characters, before it’s peeled it shows off their public image first. In the case of Daredevil, you can see Nelson and Murdoch, the lawyer firm Matthew Murdoch is an owner of. For Jessica Jones, it shows Alias Investigations which is, of course, her investigation company name.
Finally, many have said that the teaser also predicted a release date of May 12th, 2017. We’re still not 100% sure on this and we’ll touch on this again further down.
There’s more to be found which the guys at New Rockstar covers all of this fantastically here:
The Defenders Plot
Daredevil season 2, more so than the other individual series, gave us an idea as to what to expect in the first season of The Defenders. While being trained with Stick, he was introduced to a war that’s been going on for centuries within Hell’s Kitchen and beyond. We know it has something to do with The Hand and is referenced a lot throughout Daredevil season 2 and we also know who is playing the main villain in the show too.
This shadow organization is striking on New York City and threatens to destroy it and our four Defenders must work together to stop that from happening. Given the scale of the series, it’s been strongly rumored that we’ll have some other Marvel characters from the MCU join in.
The Defenders Season 1 Cast
Picture made by user on Reddit
As you might expect, the cast list The Defenders is huge!
One fan has made the above picture with all of the different characters that are returning for season 1 of The Defenders. We’ll also put the full list below with the actor/actress name and which show they first appeared in. There’s also information (not confirmed) about the number of episodes each character is in The Defenders too.
- Matthew Murdock/Daredevil – Charlie Cox (Daredevil) – 8 Episodes
- Jessica Jones – Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) – 8 Episodes
- Luke Cage – Mike Coulter (Luke Cage) – 8 Episodes
- Iron Fist/Danny Rand – Finn Jones (Iron Fist) – 8 Episodes
- Main Defenders Villain – Sigourney Weaver (The Defenders) – 8 Episodes
- Claire Temple – Rosario Dawson (Every series so far) – 6 Episodes
- Scott Glenn – Stick (Daredevil) – 2 Episodes
- Karen Page – Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil) – 3 Episodes
- Elden Henson – Foggy Nelson (Daredevil) – 3 Episodes
- Eka Darville – Malcolm Ducasse (Jessica Jones) – 3 Episodes
- Jeri Hogarth – Carrie-Anne Moss (Jessica Jones) – 3 Episodes
- Trish Walker – Rachael Tayler (Jessica Jones) – 4 Episodes
- Misty Knight – Simone Missick (Luke Cage) – 4 Episodes
- Elektra Natchios – Elodie Yung (Daredevil) – 8 Episodes
- Sowande – Babs Olusanmokun (Luke Cage) – 4 Episodes
Season 1 Rumors
- As we mentioned above, given the scale of the show, it may be the case that they sneak a few characters from MCU in. That’s quickly debunked, though, as the rest of the Avengers are all tied up at the moment fighting amongst themselves and prepping for the big war that’s about to come. Tony Stark makes the most sense to be involved, although he keeps Stark tower in NYC, he actually resides in Malibu.
- Stick is supposedly going to die early on in the show and act as a catalyst for the other Defenders to rally together.
- Frank Castle AKA The Punisher isn’t currently listed to be involved in season 1 although given he’s getting his own show, it may be the case he makes a surprise cameo.
How many episodes will there be?
Eight episodes are scheduled to release for season 1. That’s down from twelve from the other series but given the increase in every respect for the show, it’s no surprise.
When will The Defenders season 1 be on Netflix?
Last updated: (04/09/2017) Netflix has released a trailer which includes a release date hidden but it’s also confirmed by the official Defenders page on Netflix itself. The announcement comes in the form of a strange video posted onto the Netflix YouTube channel. In the trailer our four heroes are going down on an elevator and Jessica Jones notices a camera watching them. She then proceeds to knock out the camera but the date gets stuck to 08/18/2017.
Are you looking forward to season 1 of The Defenders? Let us know in the comments!
