The first phase, if you like, of the Marvel/Netflix shows was to build up to the much-hyped Defenders miniseries which united the heroes of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to defeat the evil ninja clan the Hand. Unfortunately, while it was definitely fun to have the four vigilantes teaming up, the eight-episode run wasn’t up there with the best that this slice of the MCU has to offer.
Since then, news on a potential second season of The Defenders has gone cold but, despite the shortcomings of the first outing, fans would no doubt love a reunion for the titular protectors of New York. When Luke Cage himself, Mike Colter, held a Q&A at Baltimore Comic Con over the past weekend, the topic naturally came up, and though he wouldn’t confirm anything outright, the actor teased that it’s a possibility as long as the fans want it.
“That crowd wasn’t loud enough for Defenders 2, sorry,” Colter joked, encouraging the audience to cheer louder at the potential for another season. When they did, he added: “Alright, alright, maybe we can do something.”
Colter was obviously just having fun with the crowd here, but this does probably knock part of the reason why Netflix is in no hurry to do another Defenders on the head. I mean, for the difficulty it takes to bring the cast of four shows together, the lukewarm response to the first run just wasn’t worth it. So, they’re presumably hesitant to jump into that again unless they can ensure that it’s going to be an absolute success next time.
Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb has previously made clear that there’s every chance a second season of The Defenders will happen, though he suggested the intriguing idea that it might feature a different cast of heroes, citing the team’s changing line-up in the comics as reference. That’s probably not what fans had in mind, but if it means we get the likes of, say, Moon Knight or Blade in the MCU, then we’re pretty sure they won’t kick up a fuss.