After the release of Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange in 2016, the last few weeks may seem like we’re in the middle of a Marvel Cinematic Universe drought. However, a recent marketing push by Marvel and Netflix has it raining news and images from the incoming teamup miniseries, The Defenders.

We’ve officially seen the team assembled, along with an explanation of why this team, unlike the Avengers, is best suited for Netflix. Now the streaming giant has released additional images featuring  Danny Rand in action, Jessica Jones taking a stroll with Trish Walker, and a new watermark-less version of the previously-released picture of Sigourney Weaver’s mysterious villain, Alexandra, from The Defenders.

It’s interesting seeing pictures of Finn Jones’ Danny Rand/Iron Fist promoted alongside the other Defenders when his own show hasn't even premiered yet, but the first image in the gallery below shows him out of costume apparently conducting an interrogation. The gas mask worn by the other character in this image is immediately apparent, and definitely cause for speculation. Was he working with hazardous chemicals prior to Iron Fist’s arrival on the scene, or is this evidence of a larger threat, like a planned or attempted chemical weapons attack? Danny Rand is noticeably sans mask, so this may be a situation that poses danger to his character and anyone else in the vicinity.

[vn_gallery name="Marvel’s The Defenders Images" id="880796"]

The second picture is fairly innocuous, featuring Jessica Jones and and Trish Walker walking with coffee. One of the biggest difficulties presented when bringing these the Defenders together in a serialized format is going to be secondary characters. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all exist in the same New York city, with Iron Fist joining them soon, but the overlap in the shows is minimal at this point. Aside from Claire Temple (and Luke's role in Jessica Jones season 1), the shows don’t share many characters.

With all four heroes, plus their supporting casts like Trish, Foggy, Karen, and Misty Knight, plus returns at least from Elektra and Stick and the ever looming presence of the likes of The Punisher, the Kingpin (who Vincent D'Onofrio says will not appear), and Madame Gao (not to mention new characters like Alexandra), The Defenders could have a massive supporting cast. Fortunately, most of these characters have already had plenty of time to develop in their own shows, making it far easier for The Defenders to weave them into the story with minimal explanation.

Even though Marvel and Netflix have already started a big marketing push with all these promotional images, The Defenders is still without a release date other than an ambiguous “summer 2017.” So far, each of the Marvel installments have alternated between early spring and autumn releases. Iron Fist releases March 17th, but with The Defenders breaking new ground for Marvel/Netflix, it makes sense to see them change up the release date as well. Either way, we’re likely to know before long

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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. The Defenders and The Punisher will arrive at some point this year. Premiere dates for the newest seasons of Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Luke Cage have not yet been announced.

Source: Netflix