Marvel's Jessica Jones: 5 Ways Kilgrave Could Return In Season 2

The Purple Man is back, supposedly...

by Ewan Paterson
Jessica Jones Kilgrave
Netflix

While we're all currently chomping at the bit to get our hands on The Defenders (which is great, by the way), it's true that anticipation is riding high regarding all the other solo series entering Netflix's corner of the MCU. The Punisher is the first series to make way in the post-Defenders milieu, but after that comes season two of Jessica Jones - something that fans have been waiting a heck of a long time for.

Anywho, news came out today (by way of Entertainment Weekly) that David Tennant would, in fact, be reprising his role as the villainous Kilgrave in the show's second season. That might come as a surprise to some, seeing as how he was (spoiler!) killed off in Jones' first season finale. But come on, this is comic book-dom; there are plenty of potential reasons for how the purple-clad mad man has managed a return, surely.

Jessica Jones Season 2 Kilgrave David Tennant
Netflix/EW

Granted, Netflix’s approach to the MCU has been typified by gritty tones and adult themes, but Kilgrave is still a super villain; no amount of grit and/or nuance negates those comic book elements, and nor should they. They coalesce on and off the page all the time and, irrespective of how Tennant's Purple Man has returned, it only bodes well for season two of JJ, seeing as how he was such a great part of what was already a pretty stellar series.

As for how Kilgrave's actually returned? Well, there's a few possibilities...

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.