‘The Defenders’ Showrunner On How It’s Different From Individual Shows

The Defenders weekend is in full swing on Netflix, prompting many fans to do their homework and watch the individual series which lead to the eight ensemble episodes. Those viewers who have taken a peek at the series which lead to Defenders will notice the latest title is quite different from its predecessors.

The Defenders showrunner Marco Ramirez made an effort to differentiate the ensemble series from each character’s individual series while also incorporating elements of each into it.

“I think, just at their core, each of the other shows are about individual people who are very isolated, who have to go on journeys and have to kind of realize things about themselves as they make their way through the world, whether or not that’s Daredevil or Jessica Jones, or any of them,” Ramirez said. “This show really becomes about, I think, a family dynamic, and it becomes about how four people who are completely isolated, purposely, have to deal other people in, into their lives, let other people in, and trust people.”

“It’s a show, I think, ultimately, thematically, about that trust,” Ramirez continued. “And about people forced to come together, as people who are very isolated forced to lift those boundaries.”

As each show has its defining elements, namely Daredevil being remembered for iconic action sequences and Jessica Jones for its intimate villain and sarcastic attitude, Ramirez keeps those factors in mind while also building on the new opportunities offered by the ensemble.

“I would say the iconic kind of Daredevil fight is the one man against a room full of people fight, right?” Ramirez said. “So just by their virtue, the way we’re going to shoot these things, we can’t shoot the four of them fighting a room full of people the same way we would shoot a Daredevil fight. So, motion-ally it kind of becomes very different.”

“This is about group dynamics,” Ramirez went on. “These characters, for us and for the fight choreographers, and Jessica knows this as well as anybody, the fight choreograph … each character on these shows fights very distinctly and very differently. I remember season two of Daredevil, we had many conversations about how Daredevil fought differently than Frank Castle fought. It’s almost like an extension of language, the way that they dance in the world, the way that they perform violence is very different. So it’s really just about this ballet, or rather this symphony of all these different instruments. The way that Luke Cage throws a punch is very different than the way Jessica Jones throws a punch, is very different than the way Danny throws a punch. I hope that answered some of your question.”