The world of live-action superheroes is set to get wilder than ever before when the titular characters from Marvel's four Netflix dramas combine forces for The Defenders, and perhaps their biggest upcoming threat, Sigourney Weaver's Alexandra, is the most mysterious one to audiences. Not much light has been shone on the hard-to-identify villain, but it appears Weaver won't be an isolated baddie watching from afar, and she's actually getting into some physical brawls. According to co-showrunner Marco Ramirez, the actress was absolutely down for it all.
[Weaver] said, 'I've never been a martial arts kind of gal, I'm more of a hold-the-flamethrower kind of gal.' I'd love to tattoo that interaction onto my forehead forever. She was really willing to do things, to really get dirty, it was wonderful.
Not exactly a sizzle reel of Sigourney Weaver driving a presumably stylish shoe into the back of Danny Rand's head, but if it's the biggest morsel that we're going to get from the Defenders co-showrunner, then we'll take it. Because honestly, I guess I was indeed picturing Weaver's Alexandria as a villain who would be sitting in a luxurious throne while her army of Hand soldiers and others did all the physical fight duties. But let not age nor a fisticuffs-light career hold back this Oscar-nominated actress, because Weaver apparently came to win.
Anyone who sat down for several intense binge-sessions with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist knows that these are shows where the fights are extensions of the characters themselves, showcasing Matt Murdock's unstoppable drive or Luke Cage's unbreakable face. And Marco Ramirez told the Los Angeles Times that he and Douglas Petrie worked with stunts coordinator Matt Mullins on breaking down everyone's particular styles so that they could be handled from a writer's perspective. That probably wasn't so hard when they were looking at the established heroes of this universe, but taking on a brand new villain being portrayed by one of this generation's most noteworthy thespians is somewhat different.
I couldn't be more pumped to hear that Sigourney Weaver was all about getting down and dirty in bringing her physical prowess out for The Defenders. I suppose we are meant to infer from Ramirez's words that the secret-cloaked Alexandra won't be bringing out any big flamethrowers, Ripley-style, but this isn't really the world for that kind of battle. (Though there would be something magical about watching Jessica Jones and Luke Cage fighting Alien's Queen Mother.)
While we don't get to see any of Sigourney Weaver's big moments in the first trailer that was released for The Defenders, you can still see a whole lot of other awesome moments. Check it out below.
Thankfully, we only have a few more months to wait before seeing Marvel's fearsome foursome whipping ass all across streaming, as The Defenders is set to hit Netflix on Friday, August 18, at 12:01 a.m. PT. There are plenty of things to catch up with in the meantime, though, and you'll find it all in our Netflix 2017 schedule and our summer TV premiere schedule.
