Sigourney Weaver Describes Her Villainous Character In The Defenders As A Renaissance Woman

When Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist finally unite on Netflix for The Defenders, it can only be in response to a very significant threat. Individually, they’ve each faced down a variety of foe – from Wilson Fisk, to Kilgrave, to Mariah Dillard – so it’s with great anticipation that fans await the unveiling of the villainous character played by the legendary Sigourney Weaver, “Alexandra.”

Nerdist recently asked Weaver about her The Defenders character, as she attended the opening of Pandora: The World Of Avatar at Animal Kingdom – and the actress managed to give a detailed answer, while revealing very little of any great consequence.

“I know I play sometimes, like the warden in Holes is a villain, but I don’t do it very often and I never really think of them like that. To them, it always comes out of something. They can’t see things the way the normal person sees them, they’re still trying to complete something for themselves.

“I do think she’s a renaissance woman. I think yes, she has to do these things but she really… she loves life, she loves culture. It’s one of the most interesting women characters I’ve ever read.”

Little has been confirmed beyond the fact that Alexandra is villainous, and is not a character taken from the comic book source material. This fact alone has opened up a wealth of possibilities and added to the mystery, but costume designer Stephanie Maslansky has also previously been quoted as saying that “she’s the head of an ancient organization which is grounded in the comics.”

Now, Weaver’s own references to Alexandra being a lover of life and culture – when considered in conjunction with the comments of Stephanie Maslansky, as well as the current trailer – bolster the theory that Weaver’s Alexandra is the leader of The Hand. Perhaps she’s even someone who’s benefitted from the The Hand’s process of raising people from the dead.

While the prospect of a well-written villain played by Sigourney Weaver is tantalizing, to say the least, it’s important to note that one of the main criticisms of these Marvel Netflix series (in particular, Daredevil and Iron Fist) so far is the fact that Asian-American performers are used as background artists (mainly as villainous ninjas) while rarely being included in main roles – despite the fact that the organization of The Hand hails from Ancient Japan. Accusations of white-washing and cultural appropriation flew swiftly across social media with the arrival of Iron Fist, so it remains to be seen how Sigourney Weaver’s potential leader of The Hand will be received when The Defenders arrives on Netflix on August 18th.