Marvel is certainly creating quite a stir in the movie theaters with the connected Cinematic Universe. The studio made a bold move when it decided to take the Marvel Connected Universe in darker direction as the same timeline that has The Avengers, Thor, and Captain America presented fans with shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and eventually Iron Fist. These shows will be joined together with The Defenders, but what is next for these shows?
Luke Cage: Season 1 Release Date in September 30, 2016
Mike Colter plays the title character in this particular series that is based in Harlem rather than the Hell's Kitchen of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. In fact, Jessica Jones introduced us to this character, and the fact that he had a wife, not to mention super-strength and invulnerability.
The show will introduce viewers to other characters in this world such as Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard, a Harlem politician. Dillard has a criminal cousin named Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes played by Mahershala Ali.
Misty Knight, a Blaxploitation character from the comics, will be played by Simone Missick, and will apparently be Cage's love interest. So, it looks like Cage has moved on from Jessica Jones. Rosario Dawson, aka the Night Nurse aka Claire Temple, will be showing up on the show, but what role will she play?
A report from Digital Spy states that Colter has discussed how Luke Cage will be dealing with the corrupt people in Harlem who believe they are serving the best interest of the community, but are only self-serving in the end.
Hopefully, there will be an origin story to the character, as there hasn't anything hinting at the source of Luke Cage's metahuman abilities. It will be interesting to see how the events of Captain America: Civil War will affect the story.
Iron Fist: Season 1 Release Date sometime in 2017
Of the four main shows, Iron Fist was the biggest question mark, but once Finn Jones was cast as the title character, the show has begun to take shape. It will take place in that dark underbelly of New York City, and Daniel Rand (Iron Fist's real name) will be fighting crime on the streets with the help of his mystical crime fighting ability.
Also joining him are some comic book inspirations like Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), Harold Meachum (David Wenham), the Steel Serpent, and Joy and Ward Meachum, accordin got TV Cheat Sheet.
When it comes to Steel Serpent, this is a subject that has been introduced on Daredevil. It is actually a drug sold by Madame Gao, and Season 2 of Daredevil had a lot of action with a ninja organization called The Hand. There was a lot of things on the season that didn't really fit in the tone of Daredevil, but it felt like the writers were "laying pipe" for Iron Fist. We shall see about that.
The Defenders: Season 1 Release Date later in 2017
Now here is another big question mark on the MCU as far as the big team-up for these characters. When it came to The Avengers, part of the plan of Loki was to bring the whole team together so he could play them against each other. Yes, that did not go well at all, for Loki.
So, is there going to be a "big villain" for this series? Actually, it is more of a mini-series, and it is not known if another season of The Defenders will come about. Is it possible that Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) from Daredevil will show up? We know from Jessica Jones that Kilgrave (David Tennant) won't show up. That was a spoiler if you are not familiar with that particular show.
If anyone will get this group together, it is the aforementioned Claire Temple. But if you read comics, you know how team-ups go. First they wind up in the same room together, then fight over a misunderstanding, then realize that they are on the same side and join forces. Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice did that earlier this year.
Daredevil: Season 3 Release Date for 2018
What happens to Daredevil (Charlie Cox) will definitely depend on what is going to happen with The Defenders. Like most comic books, a team-up focuses on the hero as a crime-fighter, but a solo series can focus on the character's more private life.
For example, Matt Murdock ended Season 2 by just walking up to Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and just saying: "I am Daredevil". Karen Page could respond with "Really, I killed Wesley, Wilson Fisk's best friend and business partner". Oh yeah, that happened in Season 1, and was hardly dealt with.
Since the law firm that Matt tried to establish has broken up, Foggy (Elden Henson) has gone to work for Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) from Jessica Jones. This could be a Defenders-link rather than a subplot for this season, but that remains to be seen.
Jessica Jones: Season 2 Release Date for 2018
Again, this is really dependent on what is done with this character on The Defenders, but her potential is very great. Jessica Jones is always about dealing with the PTSD of being a superhero, more than the adventures or capers themselves.
Jessica (Krysten Ritter) is going to have to deal with the fact that she killed in order to solve the case. It looked as if business was about to pick up for her investigative agency, which could lead to some more cases.
As for a villain, one was already established with Will Simpson (Wil Traval), who is clearly set up to be the Daredevil villain Nuke. Whether or not he will tattoo an American flag to his face like the comic as also remaining to be seen by the viewers and fans.
The Punisher: Season 1 Release Date Unknown
The original plan was not to have The Punisher be a part of The Defenders. However, the character from Daredevil Season 2 is so popular it really was a matter of time before he had his own show, and this was part of the plan from the beginning.
Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) was introduced as a vigilante with the skull on his costume and a lot of firepower. It is possible that he will somehow figure into the plotlines of the other series, or just continue his one man war on crime. This one is also on a "we shall see" basis.
