ARTICLE
Netflix’s “Marvel’s The Defenders” Cast Talk Group Dynamics and Challenges Filming as a Team.
By Flora / 17 Aug 2017 (Thursday)
Come tomorrow, Netflix will be premiering their highly-anticipated super-sized Marvel series - Marvel’s The Defenders, bringing the core 4 superheroes together: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
This is the first ‘Avengers-like’ series from the streaming giant, and from the looks of the various trailers and promotional videos, it seems like we are in for more superhero action from this newly-formed team. For the actors themselves, this series marks their first time collaborating with one another as well.
During our Netflix tour in New York earlier this year, we sat down with three of the four key superheroes - Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Mike Colter (Luke Cage) and Finn Jones (Iron Fist)- to talk about their filming experiences.
“Filming “The Defenders” feels like I’m doing it for the 3rd season of ‘Daredevil’. It’s really fun to play a character for many hours and I’ve got to know him really well,” said Cox, who has played Matt Murdock/Daredevil for 2 seasons.
“I don’t know any of those guys. It’s a different dynamic altogether. When we shoot Daredevil, it feels like it’s driven by what Matt does or what happens to him, but through this show, that’s not the case. There are four of us, so it has been different… particularly what all of us bring to the group.”
Having a great rapport with your fellow cast members is a salient aspect of bringing out the camaraderie among these crime-busting ensemble. During their last appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con, from the looks of it, the foursome-awesome team is having their time of their lives together, especially between Colter and Jones.
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A post shared by Finnstagram 🌴 (@finnjones) on Jul 21, 2017 at 4:41pm PDT
Similarly, in the comics, Colter and Jones’s characters are best buddies.
“The bromance?” Jones chuckled. “It’s going really well so far! Obviously, when you have a relationship like this in television shows and films that are so iconic and built up in the hype, there’s a worry that you may oversell it? Amazing, with me and Mike, and amazingly with the writing, it just feels very effortless and feels very natural. And I’m not just saying this, those are actually some of my favourite scenes… the writing and the characters, they complement each other really well.”
Colter too, agreed that their friendship was the most interesting part for him.
He shared: “You’ll definitely see us together on screen in a way that is going to be more complex than that. I think the comic book has established their friendship but as to how they become friends, how they become allies… it’s the journey that’s the most interesting part.”
“So doing ‘The Defenders’ will explore the roots of their relationship, how they met and what makes them different. It’s the same thing with me and Jessica Jones… and how they attract. I think you’ll see more of that in the series as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how people will respond to their relationship.”
Fighting together as a team also means more choreography work for the stunt team. Cox felt the difference in terms of the fight sequences when he had to film his standalone series and when fighting in a team.
“It’s very complicated to film,” he explained. “If there was a fight sequence that I couldn’t do, my stunt double will do it. You only have to position the camera to hide one person’s face. But if we have a big team up and if there’s a section that all of us couldn’t do or just two of us could because they are very complex, you have to find a way to position the camera and find a way that the stunt doubles will make sure that the actors know that bit.”
“Filming constantly for a year can be exhausting, but it’s nice to have a kind of continued journey with the character,” said Jones, about his role as Danny Rand/Iron Fist. “To have the arc is really lovely, and to play all as one is really great!”
(Read our press conference coverage of 'Iron Fist' promo tour in Singapore!)
Additional cast members include Academy-Award nominated actress Sigourney Weaver (Alexandra), Elodie Yung (Elektra), Scott Glenn (Stick), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), Eka Darville (Malcolm Ducasse), Simone Missick (Misty Knight) and Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing).
Marvel’s The Defenders premieres on Netflix on 18 August!