Iron Fist may be next in line to join Marvel and Netflix’s pantheon of small-screen heroes – look for the Finn Jones-fronted spinoff to air on March 17 – but thanks to Entertainment Weekly, today belongs to The Defenders.
Nipping at the heels of this morning’s cover reveal, EW has now switched gears to reveal the identity of Sigourney Weaver’s nemesis. It’s a role that has been cloaked in mystery ever since the decorated actress first climbed aboard Netflix’s team-up series back in September, leading many fans to ask the question: Can Weaver’s baddie really compare to the likes of Wilson Fisk, Kilgrave and Cottonmouth? With no premiere date to speak of, it’ll be some time yet before those questions are answered, but in order to whet our collective appetite, EW has confirmed Weaver’s villain to be Alexandra, a “very powerful force in New York City.”
Showrunner Marco Ramirez goes on to describe Alexandra as the “ultimate badass” – not unlike the great Sigourney Weaver herself, then – and a character capable of putting Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil through their paces. “She’s everything Sigourney is: sophisticated, intellectual, dangerous,” Ramirez adds.
Introducing such a formidable threat, one that’s able to bring together four solitary heroes from across Hell’s Kitchen, proved to be a tricky balancing act for Ramirez and Co. to execute in the sense that Weaver’s Alexandra had to amalgamate with Marvel’s small-screen universe.
“We knew it would take something massive to pull these four characters from their individual worlds to work together, but also small enough that it felt like it existed in our world.”
All eight episodes of The Defenders are expected to premiere via Netflix this summer, followed by a Jon Bernthal-fronted Punisher series later in 2017.
