It’s no secret that Marvel and Netflix danced around the decision to order a sophomore season of Jessica Jones, perhaps in fear that it would clash with the former’s plans for the planned Defenders universe. But as lead star Krysten Ritter noted before, the inaugural season ended in such a way that there was plenty of story left to tell regarding New York’s no-nonsense private eye.
Low and behold, the stars aligned only a fortnight ago when Marvel and Netflix officially greenlit Jessica Jones season 2, bringing Ritter, Melissa Rosenberg, Rachael Taylor, Mike Colter and Carrie-Anne Moss back to Hell’s Kitchen in early 2017.
[zerg]But which direction will Rosenberg pursue? Mooted reports of David Tennant’s Kilgrave returning reared their head only last week, though such a return would naturally present some logistical problems. By all accounts, with Alias Investigations now up and running once more, Ritter’s Jones is very much back on the case, embracing her private eye persona and finally closing the book on her PTSD – for now.
Speaking to Collider, the core Jessica Jones cast discussed the future of Netflix’s critically-adorned origins tale, with Ritter taking point by addressing season 1’s bittersweet ending.
For Jessica, that final victorious, triumphant moment when she kills Kilgrave, I found that very conflicting, in terms of her head space. He’s the reason why she got up, every day. He’s the reason why she went out in the world. It really gave her a purpose. And I don’t think that the past trauma just goes away with his death. So, her head space is really complex.
Mike Colter, on the other hand, finally made his bow as the towering, musclebound Luke Cage in Jessica Jones‘ opening season. Looking further afield, though, the actor spoke about Marvel’s planned standalone series for the mysterious Hero for Hire.
I really can’t get into too many details, but Luke Cage is completely different. He goes off Uptown and does his own thing. The time lapse is not that long, so it’s not like Jessica Jones never happened. You will see some of that. What I enjoyed about being in the world of Jessica Jones, as Luke Cage, is that I wasn’t front and center because it was Jessica Jones’ story, but it allowed me to find the character from a different perspective. So often, when you’re playing the lead in your own show, it is all about you.
The writing wasn’t for me, it was for her. But in the sense of how I was able to play off of her and understand our relationship, it helped me to understand who Luke Cage is, too. The way that I was able to see how Luke dealt with Jessica, he’s a supporter. He could have intervened with Kilgrave, but that was something she had to deal with for herself. He couldn’t come to her rescue because that wouldn’t change the horror of what she’d been through. In that regard, it defined who he was and how he looked at her, as a person who’s a complete individual that can do things for herself, but if she needed him, he was there for her.
Jessica Jones season 2 is currently incubating in the early stages of development. Next in line for Marvel is Daredevil season 2 on March 18, before Mike Colter gets his standalone debut with Luke Cage later in 2016 – November, presumably.
