<P> The limited series stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist, all reprising their roles from their individual series . The miniseries also stars Eka Darville, Elden Henson, Jessica Henwick, Simone Missick, Ramón Rodríguez, Rachael Taylor, Deborah Ann Woll, Élodie Yung, Rosario Dawson, Scott Glenn, and Sigourney Weaver . Development on the miniseries began in late 2013, with Cox the first actor cast in May 2014 . Petrie and Ramirez joined as showrunners in April, after serving in the same role on the second season of Daredevil, though Petrie left with the start of filming, which took place in New York City from October 2016 to March 2017 . </P> <P> The Defenders premiered in New York on July 31, 2017, with the full season of eight episodes released on August 18, 2017 on Netflix . </P> <P> Set a few months after the events of the second season of Daredevil, and a month after the events of the first season of Iron Fist, the vigilantes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up in New York City to fight a common enemy: the Hand . </P> <Ul> <Li> Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil: A blind pro-bono lawyer in Hell's Kitchen with his four remaining senses enhanced who is secretly the vigilante, Daredevil . Cox stated that the second season of Daredevil, which sees Murdock fight alongside Elektra Natchios and the Punisher, prepared Murdock for the Defenders, saying, "Something that's very tricky for Matt is to allow anyone to help him . He finds it impossible to ask for help . One of the lessons that he's (starting) to learn...is that he needs other people, he needs help ." Cox added that the start of the miniseries sees Elektra's death at the end of Daredevil's second season weighing heavily on Murdock, that he is "a little bit lost, and the best he can do for now is to not engage in his vigilante activities," though he has not "completely found peace with that idea ." In addition, Murdock still looks to his faith regarding his actions, with Cox commenting, "He believes that his intentions are good . He's always, always going to wonder if he's committing mortal sin ." Ramirez likened Murdock and Natchios' relationship to Edward Norton and Brad Pitt's characters in Fight Club "except with a more overt sexual dynamic...Emotionally, Matt knows and has to embrace the fact that she's his burden to deal with (once she is resurrected)... Elektra is his problem, his cross to bear ." Cox also felt that Murdock and Jessica Jones would have a "fiery relationship" in the series since both characters are "quite opinionated and quite stubborn ." </Li> <Li> Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones: A private investigator suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who runs her own agency, Alias Investigations . Ritter felt it would be interesting to see what forces Jones to team up with the other heroes, since "she doesn't want to be a superhero . She doesn't want anything to do with that ." She added that at the start of the series, Jones is "still dealing with the aftermath of Kilgrave" along with the new found "success" for Alias Investigations at the conclusion of the first season of Jessica Jones, stating, "People want her to work for them, she's getting a lot of business, and she's not ready for any of that ." Describing the dynamic between Jones and the rest of the team, showrunner Marco Ramirez says, "She's gloriously the most reluctant hero in the world . She's going to have to let three men into her life who she doesn't 100 percent trust ." Ritter noted that Jones and Murdock would have a "cat and mouse" dynamic, with the roles switching between the two characters . </Li> <Li> Mike Colter as Luke Cage: A former convict with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin who now fights crime in Harlem . Colter felt that none of the Defenders seemed like they would want to be in a superhero group together, and said that though Cage, specifically, "knows there are other people like him," he "is in his own world ." He added that the beginning of the series would deal with the consequences of Cage voluntarily going to prison to atone for his past, saying, "He's been able to come clean and deal with his past...The difficulty with Cage (in the first season of Luke Cage) is that he has this secret, he has this thing that he's been trying to run away from and deal with, and that's a big burden to bear . That weighs on you, that changes who you are as a person . Now that that's out of the way, I think we can give him a different approach to life ." Colter added that Cage would act as "the conciliator" for the group as well as a mentor to Danny Rand . The combination of Cage and Rand was done as an homage to the pair's relationship in Heroes for Hire, that Colter described as "a cool combination" and would have "a wisdom - versus - youth quality ." </Li> <Li> Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist: A billionaire Buddhist monk, co-CEO of Rand Enterprises, and martial arts expert with the ability to call upon the mystical power of the Iron Fist . Jones said that Rand is the one "who really knows what's going on, he knows how serious this situation is" and the one who "drives the group to get shit done ." Jones described the difference in Rand from Iron Fist versus The Defenders as "Danny in his adolescence" in the former, and "Danny taking responsibility and moving forward with his purpose" in the latter . He continued, saying, "He's craving desperately for family, for help, for guidance, for people to learn from, and for a team (in The Defenders). But because of what happens in Iron Fist, he's very untrusting . It's really his way or no way ." Jones also felt that between Iron Fist and The Defenders, the series and miniseries was "the complete first season of Danny's journey ." Colter described Rand as "a young guy" with "an exuberance...that Luke Cage wants to temper a bit...Danny comes out like a bull in a china shop in some ways, and I think Luke has seen the world and knows certain things ." Jones felt Rand is influenced by the other Defenders, who are older than Rand and are "people with abilities and problems that still manage to keep their shit together and live a responsible and purposeful life . Danny is really in admiration of that, especially in admiration of Daredevil...he's really inspired by what they are able to achieve, so it's like Danny meeting a bunch of older brothers and sister for the first time, and they're keeping him in check a little bit, and they give him a self - realization that he can do that as well ." Since Rand is picked on by the other members of the group, this was seen by viewers as an acknowledgment of the poor reception that the first season of his series received . However, Ramirez said that Iron Fist had not been released when they were making The Defenders, and that dynamic was how they naturally felt his character would be treated . </Li> <Li> Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse: Jones' neighbor and assistant at Alias Investigations . Darville reprises his role from Jessica Jones . </Li> <Li> Elden Henson as Franklin "Foggy" Nelson: Murdock's close friend and former law partner who now works with Jeri Hogarth . Henson reprises his role from Daredevil . </Li> <Li> Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing: A former member of the Hand, Rand's lover, and the owner of a New York City dojo . Henwick reprises her role from Iron Fist . </Li> <Li> Simone Missick as Misty Knight: A Harlem police detective part of a citywide task force who is Cage's ally . Missick reprises her role from Luke Cage . </Li> <Li> Ramón Rodríguez as Bakuto: One of the five "fingers" of the Hand, and Wing's former sensei . Rodríguez reprises his role from Iron Fist . </Li> <Li> Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker: Jones' adoptive sister and best friend who hosts her own radio talk show . Taylor reprises her role from previous Marvel Netflix series . </Li> <Li> Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page: Murdock's close friend and former secretary and a burgeoning newspaper reporter . Woll reprises her role from Daredevil . </Li> <Li> Élodie Yung as Elektra Natchios: A mysterious and dangerous woman from Murdock's past, who is the Black Sky, a weapon of the Hand . Yung reprises her role from Daredevil . Executive producer Jeph Loeb wanted to include Natchios' resurrection storyline from the comics with the character, with Ramirez commenting that "once we got to where we got organically by the end of season 2 of Daredevil" where the character died, it "was pretty clear" that her resurrection would be featured in The Defenders . Yung called Natchios "an amnesiac (who) doesn't remember who she is or anything about her past life," adding that she is trained by Alexandra . Sigourney Weaver, who portrays the latter, called their relationship "one of the most unusual that I've ever experienced" and "very, very strange ." </Li> <Li> Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple: A former nurse who gives medical aid to vigilantes . Dawson reprises her role from each of the previous Marvel Netflix series . </Li> <Li> Scott Glenn as Stick: Murdock's mentor and leader of The Chaste who wages a war against the Hand . Glenn reprises his role from Daredevil . </Li> <Li> Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra: One of the five "fingers" of the Hand and its leader . Weaver described the character as "really smart", "very in charge", and more of an adversary than a villain . Showrunner Marco Ramirez described her as "a survivor" and "a very powerful force in New York City", adding, "She's everything Sigourney is: sophisticated, intellectual, dangerous ." As the villain of the series, the character had to be "something massive to pull these four (hero) characters from their individual worlds to work together, but also small enough that it felt like it existed in our world ." Alexandra is "charmed" by the four heroes teaming up against her, having "never met four people who are seemingly just interested in taking care of this one little part of New York...they're unlike anybody she's ever faced off against before, it's intimidating to her ." Weaver worked with the writers to avoid a cliche portrayal, specifically "terms like' ice queen' that are often thrown at women who aren't completely sympathetic ." It was important to Ramirez and Weaver to introduce Alexandra in a "fairly sympathetic light" and "in a way where she's actually vulnerable ." The character is ultimately a supporting player for the overall story of Natchios, with Ramirez explaining, "In a way we introduced Sigourney's character a little bit to highlight Elektra's story . I like to think that we wrote a really fun cool character for Sigourney but really it was also a way for us to say this is the journey that Elektra is going on ." </Li> </Ul>

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