Sigourney Weaver Offers Tantalizing Hints About The Scale Of 'The Defenders'

In the run-up to the 2017 release of The Defenders, there's one question on the lips of every Marvel fan: Just who is Sigourney Weaver playing? Right now, Marvel is keeping very quiet — and Sigourney Weaver herself refuses to give any real indications. In her latest interview with Movies.com, though, she did give us a few interesting comments...

At a time when superhero TV shows are a dime a dozen, #Marvel's #Netflix series have been very different. They've been characterized by a deep sense of place, with each series trying to build a sense of the world in which the various superheroes operate. In Daredevil, for example, you come to know the (reimagined) world of Hell's Kitchen, while Harlem is practically an additional character in Luke Cage. The Defenders looks set to continue that trend:

"[It’s a] real love letter to New York."

Uniting four superheroes in battle against a common enemy, The Defenders promises to move the action on to a scale we've not seen before in the #MarvelNetflix shows. The Defenders promises to treat the whole city with the same sense of love and detail that we've seen in previous series.

This is actually a really important detail, though. Although The Defenders is essentially a crossover event, Weaver's comment suggests that Marvel is committed to retaining the unique sense of identity that they're building up in their Netflix shows. For fans of Marvel Netflix, this is the very best of news.

A Very Different Scale

Fascinatingly, though, Sigourney Weaver describes The Defenders as having a scale that she loves.

"To me they’re not superheroes; they’re people with a gift. It’s just a different scale, and I’m really enjoying the scale of it."

As a superhero fan, I confess that I find it amazing to live in a time when Sigourney Weaver considers a superhero TV show to have a "different scale". Sigourney Weaver is, after all, a sci-fi legend; from the Alien series to Avatar, she's been in some of the best, biggest-production movies of all time. We'll soon be seeing her play the part of the grandmother in A Monster Calls, which promises to round out 2016 in style. But The Defenders is "a different scale".

Now, it's worth noting that Weaver isn't necessarily suggesting that The Defenders will have a 'bigger' scale than she's used to. In fact, I think it's the opposite; she comments:

"To me they’re not superheroes; they’re people with a gift."

My instinct is that she's suggesting The Defenders will actually be more intimate, more personal a project than she's used to. In all honesty, in spite of our love for the bells-and-whistles approach of the #MCU film, the myopic scale of The Defenders is good news for Marvel fans. Marvel's Netflix shows have all been character-pieces, with a tremendous depth of focus; for The Defenders to fit with this, it needs to be just as character-focused as, say, Luke Cage or Jessica Jones. The action and adventure come second to the need for strong character-work, for interesting interaction between, say, Jessica Jones and Daredevil, and watching the interplay between the tremendous cast. It sounds like Marvel is taking things in the right direction.

Marvel is clearly committed to retaining the sense of mystery that surrounds The Defenders. We still have no idea who Sigourney Weaver is going to play; but, that said, these quotes suggest that we're in for a treat. If Sigourney Weaver is right, we're in for a series that retains the heartbeat of all the Marvel Netflix shows we know and love — and that definitely sounds like something we fans will enjoy.

(Source: Movies.com)