Marvel Unveils Trailers for 'The Defenders,' 'Iron Fist' and 'Luke Cage'

Since the launch of the Daredevil miniseries on Netflix in 2015, Marvel has been working towards bringing The Defenders to the small screen. While many fans have pushed for these characters to have their own movies in the cinematic universe, the series definitely offers more room for character development and storytelling. The Marvel and Netflix panel at Comic-Con this year offered closer looks to the upcoming shows, including the first teaser for The Defenders, which is slated for a 2017 release. Alongside Nirvana’s “Come As You Are,” the teaser includes a voiceover that implies the team will have a difficult time defending NYC from this evil.

The Defenders will place after we are introduced to Luke Cage and Iron Fist in their own respective miniseries. Operating at the street level, a smaller scale than the world-ending threats we see in The Avengers films, Defenders will use their powers to protect New York City from a mystical evil — most likely from The Hand, the group that Daredevil faces in season two. Check out this mashup of footage that give us an idea of how the characters will work together.

The Marvel Comic-Con panel also released a clip from the upcoming Luke Cage series. Famous for his unbreakable skin and superhuman strength, Cage was previously introduced during the first season of Jessica Jones last year. The actor behind Luke Cage, Michael Colton, described the miniseries as a Wu-Tang-esque rendition of The Wire. A statement that was widely criticized by fans, but may ring true as displayed by the teaser below. Set behind Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” the clip feels reminiscent of the highly regarded scenes of Daredevil fighting his way through hallways. Look forward to binge watching Luke Cage when it premiers September 30th.

Last but not least, the Comic-Con panel also gave us the first look at Danny Rand, the wealthy martial arts practitioner that wields a mystical force known as the Iron Fist. This energy that he taps into allows him focus his chi into extremely powerful attacks, speed and durability. Even as a traditionally Caucasian character, due to the Asiatic nature of the storyline, many fans pushed to see this character portrayed by an Asian actor — something that was decided against — ultimately casting Game of Thrones alumni, Finn Jones to play the chi-wielding hero.