Luke Cage star Mike Colter was in attendance at Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend, and was asked by a fan whether or not there'll be a Defenders season 2. The eight-episode miniseries was released on Netflix in 2017 and brought together the heroes from four different shows: Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
The major barrier to a second season of The Defenders is scheduling. Netflix's VP of Original Content, Cindy Holland, recently explained that "the biggest issue was the timing of production and launching of The Defenders, because what that meant is we had to shut down all of the shows, so all the actors [could] be available." But while there aren't any current plans for The Defenders season 2, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb has said that it's "not off the table," and offered the intriguing suggestion that a second season could feature a different lineup of superheroes.
Related: The Defenders Season 2 Probably Isn't Happening
According to ComicBook.com, Colter at first teased the Baltimore Comic-Con audience by saying, "That crowd wasn't loud enough for Defenders 2, sorry." When the fans got louder in response, he changed his mind, saying, "Alright, alright, maybe we can do something." While that certainly indicates that Colter is open to a second season of the team-up show, it's also very non-committal, indicating that there's still nothing officially on the slate.
Superhero crossovers can be a lot of fun (which is why The CW's Arrowverse does them every year), but they're also quite tricky to pull off successfully. The Defenders was charged with bringing together the main characters of four different shows, picking up plot threads that had been established in the individual shows, and balancing screen time and focus between the four superheroes - all while trying to tell a cohesive story. It's little wonder that many fans were disappointed in the end result.
Luke Cage season 2 offered an alternative approach by having Iron Fist's Finn Jones guest star in an episode, temporarily teaming up with Luke again. Rather than trying to pull all four characters together for another season of The Defenders, it might be better to simply have them keep popping up in each other's shows for an episode or two. After all, they all live in the same city, so it makes sense for them to call one another in when they need back-up.
The next chapter in the Marvel/Netflix universe is Daredevil season 3, which will pick up after Matt Murdock's dramatic near-death in the Defenders finale. Since his friends all think that he was crushed under a collapsing building, it will be interesting to see whether any of the other Defenders make an appearance this season - if only because of Matt dropping by to let them know he's still breathing.
More: With Marvel Making Its Own MCU Shows, What Happens to The Defenders?
Source: ComicBook.com