We have a long list of reasons to be excited about The Defenders, with the fact that the eight episode event series will bring together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist for the first time obviously being the biggest. However, legendary actress Sigourney Weaver signing on to play the villain here is also a very, very big deal.
Marvel and Netflix have never revealed who she’s playing, of course, but costume designer Stephanie Maslansky may have confirmed in a new interview that Weaver’s “Alexandra” is indeed going to be the leader of The Hand, as most fans have suspected for quite some time now.
“I think that she’s clearly a baddie, and she’s the head of an ancient organization which is grounded in the comics. I hope that her wardrobe reflects that kind of ancientness. I hope I haven’t said too much. I hope Marvel doesn’t come after me.”
We’ve seen The Hand in both Daredevil and Iron Fist, but the group’s intentions have never been made entirely clear, so it’s essential that The Defenders clear things up. Having an actress as talented as Weaver playing their leader should definitely help there, as will the highly anticipated return of Elodie Yung’s Elektra.
Assuming The Hand is ultimately defeated in The Defenders, it will be interesting to see how that changes the dynamic for Matt Murdock and Danny Rand, especially as their respective adventures have been tied quite closely to the villains thus far. We’ll just have to wait and see how everything plays out, but with The Defenders set to launch in August, there’s not too much longer to go now until these heroes head to war with Alexandra (if that is her real name) and the evil organization.
