Jessica Henwick Reveals 'The Defenders' Is Partly Set Outside New York & May Unite The Daughters Of The Dragon!

The last three years have seen Marvel Netflix building up their own dark, brooding corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's all been heading for this year's epic eight-episode "event series," The Defenders, and Marvel's been rather enjoying keeping things pretty quiet. Let's face it, right now we don't even know who the main villain, Sigourney Weaver's enigmatic Alexandra, really is!

That said, Entertainment Weekly just got an exciting interview with actress Jessica Henwick, who played the part of martial artist (and ex-Hand member) Colleen Wing in #IronFist. She's set to reprise her role in The Defenders, and she's dropped some tantalizing hints as to the show's direction...

Not Entirely Set In New York

Surprisingly, it seems Colleen Wing's story begins with some scenes that are set outside New York.

"We pick up with Colleen not in New York — which is crazy, as all the shows have been predominantly in New York. We find her a month after we left her. It’s really interesting she hasn’t been able to deal with the emotional trauma she dealt with in Iron Fist. So it builds to a head and she explodes in Defenders."

That is a shock. Up till now, New York City has pretty much been the fifth member of the Defenders, every bit as well-developed a character as any of the main cast. From the streets of Hell's Kitchen to the clubs of Harlem, #Marvel's gone to great effort to invoke a strong sense of place. Switching this up by having Colleen's story begin outside of New York is pretty surprising!

At the same time, though, it's an arc that dovetails neatly with the end of Iron Fist. That series ended with Finn Jones's Danny Rand taking Colleen into the Himalayas, aiming to return to K'un L'un. To their horror, they found K'un L'un had been defenceless without the Iron Fist, and had been attacked by the Hand. The entire city had mysteriously vanished.

Fans had assumed that Iron Fist and Colleen wound respond by hunting down the Hand, aiming to learn what happened to K'un L'un. If that's the case, it makes sense for their quest to be an international one, starting with both Iron Fist and Colleen Wing out of New York. No doubt they'll soon learn the Hand's secrets, bringing the duo back to the city.

A Tantalizing Team-Up: The 'Daughters Of The Dragon'?

No surprise, we look set to get some fan-favorite team-ups.

"I think people are going to love seeing characters interact with each other, they’re going to see Colleen and Misty [Simone Missick], they’re going to love seeing Luke Cage with the Iron Fist, Danny Rand. I think fans are going to freak out."

These characters have a rich history behind them, and Marvel will be facing a lot of pressure to make the dynamics work well. That's particularly the case as regards Iron Fist and Mike Colter's Luke Cage; after a lackluster performance in Iron Fist, many fans have suggested Finn Jones was only cast because of the quality of his dynamic with Colter.

At the same time, though, fans will be excited at the prospect of seeing Simone Missick's Misty Knight interact with Colleen Wing. In the comics, the two formed a popular team known as the Daughters of the Dragon; they've generally been supporting cast over in the pages of Power Man and Iron Fist and Marvel Comics Presents, but fans are eager to see Misty and Colleen team up, and potentially star in their own show. It's generally believed that Netflix is more interested in spin-offs like Punisher rather than new Marvel properties, so a good dynamic between the two would be a significant step towards a Daughters of the Dragon show!

All in all, Jessica Henwick's comments raise some tantalizing questions. Is Colleen still working with Iron Fist, or have they parted ways? What will lead them back to New York? And will the character interactions truly be as thrilling as fans are desperately hoping?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Source: Entertainment Weekly