WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the entire season of The Defenders.
Scott Glenn is uncertain of his future with Marvel and Netflix following the events of the first season of The Defenders. Glenn has no doubt assembled an impressive film resume over his five decades in the entertainment business, which included turns in such classics as Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, and Silence of the Lambs, and more recently, a recurring role in two of the hit Jason Bourne films. But since 2015, the venerable actor has settled quite nicely into work on TV, including the series The Leftovers, and playing Stick, the martial arts mentor for Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Elektra (Elodie Yung), in Daredevil and The Defenders.
Those who have binge-watched The Defenders, however, know that Stick met his untimely demise at the hands of Elektra/the Black Sky in episode six of the eight-part series, seemingly ending his run as the character. Of course, in the world of Marvel Comics, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and even the Marvel Netflix shows (note, Elektra's rebirth as the Black Sky in The Defenders), death isn't forever for some characters.
Related: The Defenders: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Stick
As such, THR asked whether Stick has a chance of coming back for a future series. Glenn, who said he learned about Stick's death from Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb about 2 or 3 episodes before the character met his fate, says he "was fine" with Stick's death, and his main concern was how the climactic final battle between Stick and his former student was executed in a way that made sense in the context of the series. He says:
"I remember Jeph saying, 'We're in the Marvel Universe. If Elektra kills you, that doesn't necessarily mean you're dead.' And I said, 'Okay.' But for me, the show is over, unless I get a phone call, and then it will or won't [continue] depending on the deal and all of that stuff."
Although Stick appears in a flashback in episode 7 following the character's death, Glenn says Loeb doesn't look at that as the only storytelling device that can be used for the actor can return.
"When Jeph said that to me, he wasn't talking about flashbacks. He was talking about literally whatever is going on in that world where people do in fact come back from death."
It has to come as welcome news to fans of Glenn that the door seems to be cracked open for Stick to return somehow, and it would be shocking if he didn't given the actor's remarks about the conversations that he's had with Loeb. If Stick is dead for good though, Glenn appears ready to move on and is already set to star in Castle Rock, a sprawling horror mystery series based on the stories of Stephen King.
With any luck though, Stick will somehow find his way back to the third season of Daredevil or the second season of The Defenders, since the grounded presence (and sometimes blunt humor) that he brought to the series will be very difficult to replace.
NEXT: 15 Things You Missed In The Defenders
The Defenders is now available on Netflix, with The Punisher arriving sometime this fall. Premiere dates for the new seasons of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist have not yet been announced.
Source: THR