Will The Defenders ever meet the Avengers on screen?
We ask the Defenders cast and crew whether we’ll see a proper superhero showdown one day
This weekend has seen the launch of Marvel’s The Defenders, a crossover series uniting each of the comic giant’s Netflix shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist) set within the same world as the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (ie the world of the Avengers, Iron Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy et al).
However, over the years the Netflix series have seemed more and more separate from their silver screen cousins, with the different production schedules and different creative challenges of TV and film meaning that not every major movie event can be factored into the on-demand stories.
These days, save for the odd reference to the "Incident" of the first Avengers film (the alien attack that ravaged New York), the Defenders seem to stand alone – but could that change? Could we one day see Iron Fist meet Iron Man, Daredevil swing with Spidey or Jessica Jones knock back drinks with Groot?
To find out, we put the question to Daredevil star Charlie Cox, who has previously expressed an interest in his blind hero joining the Avengers onscreen – but sadly for the fans, he said there’s no plans.
“I’ve got no idea – I have no idea,” Cox told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive video interview (below).
“That’s a question for people who are having conversations I’m not privy to,” he added, nudging showrunner Marco Ramirez before putting him on the spot.
“Can you guarantee that’s gonna happen?” he asked. “Can you categorically say that’s gonna happen?
“I’ll tell you this much,” he went on, referencing other news stories on the same theme – “it doesn’t matter what I say, guaranteed first thing tomorrow morning: ‘Cox confirms!’”
Still, Cox said he was still keen for his character to cross over with one Avengers hero in particular – a certain sultry spy played by Scarlett Johansson, who had a relationship with Daredevil in the source comics.
“Well, Matt Murdock at one point dated Black Widow… make that happen!” he said.
And Ramirez had an even more interesting comic-book mash-up in mind…
“I remember there was a joke early on, I forget which of the Marvel writers or executives came in and let us have this joke for a while,” he recalled.
“It was ‘And then there’s this big climactic moment, and The Defenders are cornered and don’t know what to do…and then Ghost Rider just comes in and just murders everybody and just rides off, like goodbye! Show’s over.’
“But I don’t really have a real answer for that. That’s my joke answer.”
Still, for now that’s the closest we’re going to get to any kind of Marvel crossover admission, so we’re going with it – Cox and Ramirez confirm Ghost Rider cameo! You heard it here first.
Marvel’s The Defenders is streaming on Netflix now
