'Defenders' on Netflix: What We Know About 'Daredevil' & 'Jessica Jones' MCU Follow-Up

The amazing Marvel Cinematic Universe shows Daredevil and Jessica Jones opened the gates last year to the growing TV franchise, and there are two more related shows on the way! Fans are looking forward to Luke Cage and Iron Fist from before the team effort in The Defenders -- but what do we know so far about the street-level superhero team in Netflix's side of the MCU?

The first season of Daredevil introduced one of the best villains of the MCU so far, Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, and Jessica Jones' nemesis Kilgrave/Purple Man (David Tennant) was also a very mighty foe, so what could we expect bigger than that once the TV Avengers-like team assembles? According to Screen Geek, the Defenders villain could be one of the most important in the Marvel library: Mephisto.

"Marvel is talking about setting Mephisto as the prime antagonist for the Defenders. Some may say that this villain wouldn't fit the TV shows but that's why they're incorporating Iron Fist -- to set up the supernatural element," a source close to the project told the website. "This would also help set up the next phase of the Netflix shows, as Moon Knight, Blade, and Ghost Rider are being considered."

via GIPHY

Generally speaking, the MCU has kept pretty magic-free in the years since Iron Man debuted, with the events in Thor being the closest thing to magic we've seen on this universe. Later this year, Marvel will see the release of Doctor Strange, the first real introduction of magic as a powerful force in the universe of the Avengers -- so it would make sense that the television fraction would follow, months later, with Iron Fist and later Mephisto.

Now, it seems there might be something else that will differentiate The Defenders from what we've thought so far: the show might actually include more superheroes. While it was clear so far that the four stars of the stand-alone shows would be the members of The Defenders, Newsarama.com reports a few Netflix-MCU supporting characters are making their way into the series.

The already-introduced Daredevil season 2 character Elektra (Elodie Yung) and Misty Knight (Simone Missick), a character set to début on Luke Cage, might also be part of the Defenders mini-series. Speculation regarding their inclusion came from a recent Marvel release of Defenders-themed variant covers that included those two characters -- but there's no word yet on whether Jon Bernthal's The Punisher will be part of the series, let alone the team.