With the return of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel Studios‘ Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum shared an update on the rest of The Defenders.
In a new interview, Winderbaum said Marvel is “exploring” bringing back Krysten Ritter‘s Jessica Jones, Mike Colter‘s Luke Cage, and Finn Jones‘ Iron Fist.
“I can’t say much, but I’ll tell you that it’s so exciting to be able to play in that sandbox,” Winderbaum told Entertainment Weekly. “Obviously we don’t have the unlimited storytelling resources like a comic book. If you can draw it, you can do it.”
He continued, “It’s dealing with actors and time and the massive scale of production in order to build a cinematic universe, especially on television. But I can just say that all those variables taken into account, it is certainly something that is creatively extremely exciting and that we are very much exploring.”
Before launching Disney+, Marvel Studios partnered with Netflix to develop several series based on these comic book characters. Cox starred in Daredevil for three seasons between 2015 and 2018, Jessica Jones ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2019, Luke Cage ran for two seasons between 2016 and 2018, and Iron Fist ran for two seasons between 2017 and 2018. All of the characters assembled in the 2017 miniseries The Defenders.
The shows did not continue as Marvel prioritized producing shows directly for Disney+.
In 2024, Ritter said she was down to reprise her Jessica Jones role after Winderbaum said at the D23 Brazil Expo he was open to having the character return.
“Brad Winderbaum said that? That’s really exciting to hear. Isn’t that the guy who makes the call?” she told ComicBook during an interview for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. “Come on, Brad! Let’s get it going. Let’s do it. I’ll be ready.”
Jessica Jones was a series created by Melissa Rosenberg that ran for three seasons on Netflix and was set within the Marcel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The series follows Ritter as the titled character, an ex-superhero who opens her detective agency. Jessica Jones was part of a larger storyline that led to the limited series The Defenders, which included characters like Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron First.
