Two key Daredevil: Born Again creatives addressed the absence of Luke Cage and Iron Fist from Season 2. Born Again has evolved to become a true revival of the MCU's Defenders Saga that began on Netflix, having launched with just Charlie Cox's Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin. Fans already spent some time with Jon Bernthal's Punisher in Season 1 and will soon reunite with Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones in Season 2, but the jury is still out on whether Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Iron Fist will be back on the board anytime soon.
Daredevil: Born Again executive producer Sana Amanat and showrunner Dario Scardapane spoke with Entertainment Weekly to discuss Jessica Jones' return in Season 2 and explain why Luke Cage and Iron Fist aren't beside her.
Amanat felt it was important to be "thoughtful with the limited time that [they] have" and have a clear reason for why each character is part of this story:
"We want to just at least be thoughtful with the limited time that we have, but be thoughtful with why they're here and why they're returning and where they've been and establish them in the context of this world."
Scardapane entered the conversation to note how "you run out of real estate really fast" with an eight-episode season, making it tough to explore all of the characters that one would like to:
"When you've got eight episodes per season, you run out of real estate really fast. Really fast in terms of all the different people we would love to do stories with. And both Sana and I are diehard JJ fans from way back."
When asked outright if a Defenders reunion is on the cards for Born Again, especially with Season 3 already in production, Scardapane somewhat deflected the question, saying, "That's not really up to me:"
"That's not really up to me. Jessica's with us because Jessica's awesome, and you'll see in this story what that means. Did I dodge that good enough?"
So, to address the elephant in the room, why is Jessica Jones returning in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and not Luke Cage and Iron Fist? The series' showrunner explained that Krysten Ritter's vigilante investigator has been "part of the conversation since when [he] started" on Born Again:
"Jessica has been part of the conversation since when I started. She's part of this particular world, and, in this case, when you're doing a story about 'vigilantes are now being hunted,' 'vigilantes are now underdogs,' what does that look like with that particular underdog? And that just puts a smile on a writer's face."
He hinted that Jessica Jones has "interesting life events" that he was eager to adapt in the MCU before praising how Krysten Ritter bounces off Charlie Cox:
"We were really about how these characters have developed and evolved and grown up since the Netflix shows ended. Jessica Jones, in particular, has interesting life events that we wanted to explore, and the banter between Charlie and Krysten is so damn good. We needed to get that flavor in."
Scardapane's latest comments only add further fuel to the theories that she will already be married to Luke Cage upon her return in the Disney+ series, even if her bulletproof husband doesn't return to the MCU quite yet.
The Disney+ showrunner previously confirmed they are "thinking about" how to bring back other Defenders into the MCU, including Iron Fist and Luke Cage, but insisted that it would have to be "beyond anything, earned."
I Think Luke Cage & Iron Fist Are in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3
Marvel Studios looks to be using Daredevil: Born Again as a vehicle to bring the Netflix heroes back into the MCU one at a time before sending them off into the greater universe. That began with the Punisher in Season 1, and now, he is getting his own Disney+ Special Presentation and appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, where Jon Bernthal has promised he will feel like the same old Frank Castle.
This season, fans are reuniting with Jessica Jones for the first time since her Netflix series ended in 2019, almost seven years ago. Her future remains up in the air for the time being, but Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum hinted that Jessica Jones could get her own revival series "sooner than you think."
If that pattern continues, there is hope that Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Danny Rand will be back in Born Again's third and fourth seasons. There is particular hope for Luke Cage to be up next, given that Colter recently confirmed to The Direct that he has been "talking to Marvel" about reprising his Netflix role.
Furthermore, there is reason to believe that Danny Rand's return isn't far behind, as Finn Jones hinted last year that he was back in the dojo. The martial arts-centric Netflix hero is in a more precarious position than his counterparts, as his two-season series was by far the worst received of the Defenders Saga, leaving some to speculate that the MCU may introduce another Iron Fist down the line.
Whenever Marvel Studios brings the four Defenders back together, likely in a future season of Born Again, as Dario Scardapane previously stated, it is important that it feels "earned" and serves the story. After all, this is first and foremost Daredevil's show, meaning that further hero additions shouldn't distract from him.
