The Defenders’ entire plot unfolds over only a few days

Finn Jones and Mike Colter, stars of The Defenders, sat down at a panel at Houston’s Comicpalooza convention to drop some hints about the upcoming series.

With The Defenders on the way, information has continued to drop. At the Houston Comicpalooza convention, Iron Fist star, Finn Jones, had this to say about the upcoming series, according to CBR:

"It’s 8 episodes, but it takes place over a couple of days. So it has this real-time frenetic energy to it which I think adds to the impending doom. So we’re all kind of brought together not through choice, but through necessity. We don’t want to work with each other, but our backs are against the wall and we kind of have to."

All of the other Netflix/Marvel shows use 13 episodes to tell their stories and take place over the course of several weeks or months.  The Defenders only has 8 episodes, so the abbreviated timeline makes sense.

The story features two villains with Sigourney Weaver as the principal antagonist, Alexandra. Recently, Madame Gao, portrayed by Wai Ching Ho, was revealed as the second villain.

The show premiers on August 18 and will feature Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) as the principal heroes.

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So who are The Defenders, anyway?

Marvel’s The Defenders comic series features a rotating lineup of heroes and has been running since the early 70s.  Two crossover arcs in 1969 and 1970 Roy Thomas kicked off the series and featured The Hulk, Submariner, and Doctor Strange facing off against some crazy, Lovecraftian monsters from space.  Eventually the first team would also feature The Silver Surfer.

Between the 1970s and 1980s, membership has been a rotating door with Doctor Strange and The Hulk remaining the most constant members.  Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Gargoyle, Beast, the Son of Satan and Luke Cage, and a slew of other very temporary members have been featured.

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Starting in the 1990s, the series was re-titled several times and only had a few limited runs here and there.  The upcoming Netflix Series is the first incarnation of the team since 2011.