Following successful comic-to-screen adaptations with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, Netflix will team its leading superheroes for forthcoming mini-series The Defenders. The show, due for release on the streaming platform this summer, will also feature Finn Jones, who will star in Iron Fist when it debuts on March 17. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jesica Jones), and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) are all set to reprise their roles.

Though THR reports the project will arrive sometime in June, producers have kept relatively quiet about what it will entail. A host of recurring characters are confirmed to appear, including Sigourney Weaver as mysterious villain Alexandra, and plenty of set photos have emerged online. All that’s known about the premise, however, is that it will pick up when the four crime-fighters arrive at the offices of Midland Circle, where they’ll have to brawl their way out of a corridor.

Now, executive producer Marco Ramirez has shared some more details with Entertainment Weekly. He still skirted around many specifics, but provided some insight into how things came together. He said that one of the first big challenges was navigating the ongoing storylines in the standalone shows. Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are all between their first and second seasons — assuming Iron Fist will be renewed after its March premiere — while Daredevil is between its second and third. This meant they had to be careful about making their narratives line up, and be thoughtful about where Defenders fit in to the pre-established Marvel universe. As Ramirez told EW:

Ramirez remained tight-lipped regarding the premise, but offered that “the story is kind of a shot of adrenaline to the neck.” The series will be eight episodes as opposed to its sister shows’ usual 13, making Defenders even heavier on the action. As for what brings such a diverse band of characters together, he said it was something big but still within the realm of what made sense for their world. He told EW:

“This will be a serialized story that feels like it is about one kind of contained event and story in our world. It’ll be one satisfying, self-contained piece…We never wanted anyone to feel like they’re a guest on anyone else’s show. It’s weirdly about all four of them. It’s about all of their collective stories finally folding in on each other…To me, it’s about four independent thinkers on their own flawed journeys who realize for a brief moment in time, they’re actually stronger together than they are apart. It’s ultimately a story about a family of orphans who are very grown-up but still have more growing up to do.”

Alas, viewers will have to wait several months to see what exactly all that means, but it’s the first major — and likely most specific — hint at what Defenders may bring. It’s refreshing to hear that it will add depth to each character without simply glomming on to what’s already been outlined, and will also help put into perspective their relationships with one another. From the sounds of it, the project will be a separate but cohesive beast.

“I can’t describe too much, but I can say that we knew it had to be something big. We knew it would take something massive to pull these four characters from their individual worlds to work together, but also small enough that it felt like it existed in our world. It needed to be a crisis that brought these people together, but it still needed to be a very street-level crisis. That’s the world we’re dealing with, so it couldn’t be anything too sci-fi or too supernatural or big.”

Daredevil season 1 and 2, Jessica Jones season 1, and Luke Cage season 1 are now available on Netflix. Iron Fist will premiere on March 17, 2017. The Defenders and The Punisher will arrive in 2017. Premiere dates for the newest seasons of Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Luke Cage have not yet been announced.

Source: Entertainment Weekly