‘The Defenders’ Trailer Breakdown: 18 Hand-y Secrets You Might Have Missed
Months ahead of its premiere, Marvel’s Netflix Defenders are fully assembled with a proper trailer, teasing some Elektra-fying crossovers for the street-level heroes. We couldn’t help diving way deeper into every frame of footage in anticipation of The Defenders hitting the streets this summer.
Beware of major SPOILERS, and check out everything we found in our inside look at the secrets of Marvel’s The Defenders trailer!
Jessica Jones returns!
Right off the bat, The Defenders brings us the Jessica Jones investigative action we’ve been missing. It isn’t clear what (or who) she’s searching for, but a Harlem case seems like a good bet if Misty Knight was the one to bring her in. She mentions Jessica getting a lead of hers killed; we’ll come back to that later.
“You have interrupted a city-wide investigation. You stole evidence from my crime scene … and you got my one lead killed.”
“I was trying to help him.”
“But you didn’t.”
You’ll note the heavy files Misty pulled on Jessica, but a closer look at the very bottom file reveals the name name “Ducasse, Malcolm,” Eka Darville’s character, who will also return for The Defenders.
Nelson & Murd … Fine, Just Murdock
The timely interruption of Matt Murdock will feel familiar to comic fans, recreating the exact introduction between Matt and Jessica from Alias #3. In that case, Jessica was being interrogated about the death of a woman she’d been investigating, Miranda Pritchett, who was unknowingly dating Captain America. Luke Cage called Nelson & Murdock after learning of Jessica’s arrest, but in Netflix’s case, it’s anyone’s guess why Matt is acting as Jessica’s defense (as opposed to Hogarth).
Cage-Free
“How does being Harlem’s hero allow you to live an actual life?”
“Right now, I just want to help people.”
Understandably, The Defenders doesn’t have much use for keeping Luke Cage in Seagate prison, so it looks like Harlem’s hero is out early (whether for good behavior, or Claire/Matt’s intervention remains to be seen). It’s also a sad sight to see Pop’s still boarded up after the fight with Diamondback, but it at least Luke and Claire finally got that “coffee,” right?.
Colleen Wing Steels the Show
This moment at 0:39 marks the only appearance of Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing; we’d guess leading Danny to her dojo, or another drug den for that mysterious Steel Serpent heroin. Worth noting, Henwick recently clarified that The Defenders would take place a month or so after Iron Fist, picking up with Colleen not in New York. (Perhaps returning from K’un-L’un?)
The first promo shots of the series also featured Danny in the above drug den, along with he and Colleen exiting a helicopter.
Heroes For Hire
“I’m the Immortal Iron Fist.”
“You what?”
Power Man and Iron Fist, together for the first time! Look, we’re all here for Danny getting smacked around by his fellow Defenders, but it’s worth acknowledging the slow-motion punch to Cage’s jaw calling back to a similar shot from Luke Cage.
It’s Called Whiskey
Well, looks like Jessica’s drinking problem hasn’t gone anywhere. That bar isn’t even open. Although, if you look closely at the last frame, she’s not drinking alone:
Also worth noting, this shot of Jessica confronting a man in the street could be the lead Misty was referring to earlier, but also bears an oddly passing resemblance to the same jerk Jessica confronted in her own series:
I, for one, would love if Jessica kept finding excuses to mess with that guy.
Elektra City
No surprise here, but Elodie Yung’s Elektra is indeed resurrected, and likely embracing her destiny as the mysterious “Black Sky.” In addition to her exodus from that burial chamber, we caught Matt’s wayward love at 1:36, and owning Matt himself in the battle at Midland Circle with some fresh threads.
More on that in a bit.
Iron Fist BTFO
“The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. The smartass detective. The righteous ex-con. The kid with the glowing fist. The war for New York is here.”
Now here’s a couple of moments worth discussing. For one, the above shot of Iron Fist getting thrown back is repeated from multiple angles, several of which reveal Luke is facing opposite Danny. We saw the Iron Fist producing a shockwave on Luke’s face before, so – given the presence of Stick and an open, well-lit room – might we be looking at some kind of team training session? Luke and Danny practicing a Cap-Thor special?
That theory gets a little complicated when you consider the body on the floor, whose head appears to be on the other side of the room. Either way, there’s no one visible in the shot who appears to be threatening the group, so let’s talk about Matt’s duds.
This is the only instance in which we see Matt actually suiting up as Daredevil, though we saw the costume itself tucked away in the closet. Judging by all of Charlie Cox’s plainclothes (and scarf-wearing) fight scenes, we’d guess the dressed-down look has something to do with Cox’s earlier statements about Matt trying to leave the vigilante life behind. Last we saw, he was offering his mask to Karen, who doesn’t appear in this trailer, and doesn’t appear to have kept it.
Meet the New Boss
“The more connections you have, the easier it will be to break you.”
This rooftop shot at 1:34 gives us our first look at Sigourney Weaver’s “known enemy” Alexandra, but other than her stylish look, threatening demeanor, and army of guards at every turn, there isn’t much to deduce here.
If anything, I’m more fascinated by this restaurant scene overall. Did Matt invite the other three to dinner in an empty Chinese restaurant, given that he doesn’t seem at all surprised by Stick’s entrance?
Did they fight a giant restaurant battle, and sit down to someone else’s meal? How many other beloved veteran actors after Scott Glenn and Sigourney Weaver interrupted this scene?
Daredevil Dressed-Down
Hard to say who Matt’s fighting at 1:38, but I’d probably string together the shots of plainclothes Matt leaping off a rooftop and landing in the alley with whoever the above character is supposed to be. Either a terrible stunt-double, or just a random criminal Matt fights in his spare time.
I’d be more interested in the black-robed figure you can just make out on the right side at 1:40, and carrying a sword at 1:41.
This is almost certainly the same sword we see Elektra wielding later in the trailer, so perhaps the robe serves for dramatic reveal? That second shot could easily be from the Chinese restaurant.
It All Comes Full (Midland) Circle
Prior reports have suggested this big Midland Circle battle represents the Defenders’ first meeting, so it might stand to reason that Matt was caught off-guard, and borrowed Jessica’s scarf to conceal his identity. Aren't they cute?
And of course, the requisite hallway battle, but this time with all four heroes. Note Elektra lurking ominously in the background.
Defend-splaining
“Bulletproof. Blind Ninja. Whatever it is you are.”
“Classy.”
We’ve also heard that Danny Rand is more or less the one pushing everyone to team up (perhaps by taking them to a private dinner after the battle), as he makes his case in the trailer’s final moments. Alternately, that’s how everyone looks at Finn Jones when he talks.
Well, what do we think? Does The Defenders seem promising? What other details from the trailer are worth another look? Stay tuned for the latest, and get ready to hit the streets for the Netflix team-up's August 18 premiere!
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