Marvel's The Defenders: 10 Reasons To Be Excited

10. Sigourney Weaver Is In A Marvel Project

The Defenders Sigourney Weaver
Netflix

If the culmination of 65 episodes of TV wasn't enough to hit home the importance of this event, then the casting of Sigourney Weaver surely will. Taking on the role of Alexandra - a brand new part created for the show itself - she'll be influencing the newly resurrected Elektra who, after the events of Daredevil's second season, has been left with a nasty dose of amnesia. Which, come to think of it, helps explain why she's not all smiles and hugs when Matt comes-a-knocking.

Weaver is easily the biggest star to have graced Marvel's Netflix series' thus far, and her presence alone indicates just how big a threat her character must carry. It's certainly enough to bring four of New York's mightiest heroes together, but what's most intriguing is her approach to the role, which Weaver herself has described as being more adversarial than straight up villainous. The role certainly plays to her strengths as an actor, with Alexandra seemingly embodying the confidence and resilience of many of Weaver's previous characters. Her talents - in this respect - are without question, which leaves us in little doubt that Alexandra could potentially even test Wilson Fisk's position as the proverbial king of Marvel's onscreen villainy.

Regardless, her role within The Hand has long been speculated and it'll be exciting to see how it all plays out next month. Fans have guessed that Alexandra might be a twist on the character of Alexander Bont - the retconned OG Kingpin of Crime - but the likelihood is that she's an original character herself. Either way she cuts an intimidating figure, and will no doubt provide the impetus necessary to bring Matt, Jessica, Luke and Danny together.

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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.