The Marvel Universe hasn’t been the same without its Defenders. Even when their status in Marvel canon was contested, the fearless foursome — comprised of Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) — was the grounding force for Marvel’s big-screen, high-concept exploits. While the Avengers labored to save the universe, the Defenders were worried about their own corner of New York City. They also had their own unique internal issues, which their respective Netflix shows dug into dutifully. When the streamer canceled all four shows, likely to avoid a clash with Disney+, it felt like a major loss.
Even in the 2010s, the Defenders universe harkened back to a kind of lower-stakes TV that was slowly going extinct. Now, it’s impossible not to feel nostalgic for those shows, especially with Marvel’s comparatively less-compelling TV universe struggling to establish a new status quo. One of the studio’s smartest decisions was bringing Charlie Cox’s Daredevil back into the fold, complete with an MCU-canon revival series. One successful season of Daredevil: Born Again is already in the bag, and the second is poised to bring another beloved Defender, Ritter’s Jessica Jones, into the MCU as well. But Marvel may not stop there. A new rumor might reveal the studio’s plans to rebuild the Defenders universe on Disney+, with a potential revival of Jessica Jones next on the to-do list.
