<P> In October 2013, Deadline reported that Marvel was preparing four drama series and a miniseries, totaling 60 episodes, to present to video on demand services and cable providers, with Netflix, Amazon, and WGN America expressing interest . A few weeks later, Marvel and Disney announced that Marvel Television and ABC Studios would provide Netflix with live action series centered around Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders . In November 2015, Marvel Comics' editor - in - chief Joe Quesada stated there was no apprehension from Marvel in changing the line up of the Defenders from the "classic" original line - up (Doctor Strange, Hulk, Namor and Silver Surfer) to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, "because to the world at large, no one knows who the Defenders are . So the idea of taking the concept and name and applying it to (the Marvel Cinematic Universe) feels wholly natural" adding that Marvel has "a wonderful concept" behind why the group would form in the MCU and why they would be called the Defenders . </P> <P> In April 2016, Marvel announced that Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez, the showrunners for the second season of Marvel's Daredevil, would serve as showrunners and executive producers on Marvel's The Defenders . Daredevil creator Drew Goddard also serves as an executive producer on the miniseries, along with Karim Zreik, Cindy Holland, Allie Goss, Alison Engel, Kris Henigman, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, Jim Chory, and head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb . S.J. Clarkson, director of the first two episodes, also serves as an executive producer on the first episode . In January 2015, Netflix COO Ted Sarandos had stated that the series was "eligible to go into multiple seasons for sure" and Netflix would look at "how well (they) are addressing both the Marvel fanbase but also the broader fanbase" in terms of determining if additional seasons would be appropriate . However, in July 2016, Loeb referred to the miniseries as a one - off event rather than a season of an ongoing story . Loeb also confirmed that the miniseries would consist of eight episodes, and stated that Petrie and Ramirez would consult with Melissa Rosenberg, Cheo Hodari Coker, and Scott Buck--the showrunners of Marvel's Jessica Jones, Marvel's Luke Cage, and Marvel's Iron Fist, respectively--on how "their characters would react" to certain situations; the other showrunners read each of the scripts for The Defenders and provided insight into each individual character's world . On this collaboration, Petrie said of Rosenberg specifically that she was "wonderful because she's in this position of being a fellow artist and letting us do what we do, but at the same time loving her character and being protective of her character and wanting us to get it right and wanting to guide us and help up, but also let us be free ." Rosenberg added that all of the showrunners for the other series "felt really included in the process ." Loeb compared this relationship to Joss Whedon's approach with the similar crossover in the MCU films, Marvel's The Avengers, for which Whedon "sought out all of the creative input from everybody that had worked on Iron Man and Hulk and Captain America and Thor, but he had to make The Avengers its own thing ." </P> <P> At the start of filming in October 2016, Petrie left the series as co-showrunner . Loeb explained, "We got to a point where the scripts were done, and we wanted Marco to continue, and Doug pursued other avenues ." Finn Jones said The Defenders "feels like the end of Phase One" of the Marvel Netflix series, with the events of the miniseries leading into "the beginning of another phase". </P> <P>--Showrunner Marco Ramirez on combining elements from the individual series to craft the tone of The Defenders </P>

Who are the members of the hand in the defenders