'Daredevil' Boss Talks 'Defenders' Ties and 'Jessica Jones'

Marvel’s Daredevil will hit the streets of Netflix in only two days’ time, with AKA Jessica Jones already in production, but we can’t help wondering how Luke Cage and Iron Fist will all cross over into our future Defenders. Now, Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight teases the groundwork laid by Marvel’s first original Netflix series, as well as if Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones may make an appearance.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, DeKnight stressed that production on Daredevil took place largely before the remaining Defenders had been cast or conceptualized, though at least some of the groundwork for the saga’s over-arching threat would be laid with the first series. Additionally, Ritter’s casting as Jessica Jones only solidified during production of the Daredevil finale, likely quashing any chance of an appearance:

There is an over-arching global plan culminating in The Defenders and some of that groundwork has been laid in Daredevil. I’ve had people ask me if Jessica Jones or Luke Cage make an appearance in Daredevil this season and my answer is unfortunately no because we were operating pretty much in a vacuum with this first one. Jessica Jones showrunner Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight) is adapting Bendis’ graphic novel. I was shooting the finale when Krysten Ritter was cast as Jessica Jones.
With Daredevil being the first out of the gate, we didn’t have the opportunity to cross-pollinate with other shows because they still in their formative stages. My hope is moving forward with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist now we will see more cross-pollination. There is a global plan moving toward [miniseries] The Defenders. We started to put things in place.

Streaming all 13 episodes in 4K on April 10, here’s how Netflix describes Marvel’s Daredevil:

Blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fights against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the Super Hero “Daredevil” in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.
Marvel’s Daredevil is one of the best known properties of the street level heroes and will be the the first of four epic live-action adventure series (Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Iron Fist, and Marvel’s Luke Cage, all leading up to the teaming of the main characters in Marvel’s The Defenders) that delves into the backstory of how Matt Murdock evolves into Daredevil.

Featuring Boardwalk Empire star Charlie Cox in the titular role of Matt Murdock, the cast of Marvel’s 2015 series Daredevil also includes Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, The Leftovers star Scott Glenn as Matt’s sensei Stick, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay star Elden Henson as Matt’s best friend Foggy Nelson, and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple / Night Nurse.

The show’s New York Comic-Con 2014 panel also revealed the inclusion of Vondie Curtis-Hall as reporter Ben Urich, Man of Steel star Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa (not yet Fisk), and Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley (The Owl), along with a number of recent supporting additions. Each Marvel Netflix series will shoot 13 episodes, culminating in an eight-episode team-up with The Defenders miniseries, bringing the total to 60 episodes (to start).

Well, might DeKnight be hiding some early Defenders teases? We’re just a day or so away, so check out our advance review, pore over the latest Daredevil trailers below, and hang on until the Friday premiere!