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Netflix CCO Talks Marvel's The Defenders TV Series

The Marvel Studios films of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and the latest, Guardians of the Galaxy, have all been hits. Every single one has done phenomenally well in theaters, so it’s no surprise the would decide to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the small screen. First with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then with Agent Carter, and starting next year, we’ll get the first of several new superhero television series on Netflix that will culminate in The Defenders.

Empire Magazine (via Nerd Bastards) had a chance to sit down and talk with Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos about the upcoming Marvel series. About how they are going to approach the series that will ultimately end up in an eight episode team up series, Sarandos says they’re basing the model on a familiar tentpole:

It was really based on the theatrical model of The Avengers. Could you take another group of characters, The Defenders, and go about it the same way? Normally they do the big movie and then eventually they get to the group origin story. Having 13 hours to tell each of these stories, you can go right to the origin story and the action at the same time.

Just because they’re basing the structure on the films, television — especially original Netflix series — can tend to go darker. Looks like that’s exactly what’s going to happen with these series:

The series will not be afraid to go darker than the film did. What we love about this particular set of heroes is that they're a little more down to Earth. Costume-wise and also in that these are gritty crime stories, more in the streets than in the clouds.

Marvel is growing their universe exponentially, if recent rumors turn out to be true. We have the classic Cinematic Universe, with the big tentpole characters and both S.H.I.E.L.D. series (including Agent Carter), the Cosmic Cinematic Universe that’s starting with Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Defenders Cinematic Universe with, well, The Defenders. Speaking of which, we’ve heard previously that the plan was to do a Jessica Jones series after Daredevil and that looks like to still be the plan:

Right now, the writers' rooms are open and they're looking at casting Jessica. If you sense some hesitation in my voice, that's classic Marvel fashion. They like to keep that veil of secrecy. But Daredevil is already shooting, since that's out first. Eventually the series will run very close together. You can then have a separate season where the characters will cross over.

We know that ultimately, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage will crossover together but what we don’t know is whether these characters will cross paths with the likes of Captain America or The Avengers. Regarding that, Sarandos is keeping pretty mum on the subject but said:

It has definitely been talked about.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting pretty massive. If the plan is to spinoff into multiple sub-universes, which crossover into the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe every so often, Marvel Studios can create new event films and TV series in the same vein as The Avengers. More than anything, I find that exciting!

Daredevil will premiere in May 2015 on Netflix. More news on the other shows soon!

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