On paper, it seems like such a crazy challenge, because theyre all so different, Ramirez admits.
Plus, they had to ensure their familiarity with Daredevil didnt mean his story would overshadow the others.
But Ramirez wasnt worried.
Credit: Finlay Mackay for EW; Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic
Weve all been working on this for a very long time, so were good, he explains.
Below is a condensed version of two separate interviews.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Lets go all the way back to the beginning ofthisseries.
How did you land the role as a showrunner?
How did you go about breaking the story?
He always knew what he wantedThe Defendersto be in the end, he always had a broad sense.
Theyre changing on the fly, who these characters end up being.
We didnt even know how many episodes we were going to do in the beginning.
We were just like, What dowewant?
We wanted no one to feel left out, so it was a fun challenge.
We didnt want to shortchange anyone.
If we tell this story, whatisthis story?
How did you begin exploring each of the other characters, then?
What is Luke going to sound like?
And we were like, Oh, cool!
Now we know what she looks like!
The chicken isnt even ready yet, and were already making the chocolate cake.
[Laughs] Thats a bad metaphor.
They were like, like drive this gorgeous, fast Ferrari.
These are the specs on it.
This is what it can do.
just just dont break it.
[Laughs] You know?
By breaking it, I mean, just dont go against what the character is meant to do.
How do you communicate with all of them?
Im not sure [Marvel] would like the word compound, but its certainly one big building.
It feels like a dorm.
I say that because I sleep here.
[Laughs] Yeah, my office looks like Claire Danes office inHomeland.
Its just a bunch of arrows and color-coded things.
Its a lot of timelines, a lot to remember.
It was really about tracking emotions and motivations more than it was about tracking events or dates.
That goes for everyone, all the protagonists and the [supporting] members of our cast.
I would say theres a give and take, even to the story point.
This is where the Marvel executives are really good.
Its just a big, massive conversation.
Its weirdly like theres a massive writers room with all of these shows existing as little organisms.
So Doug left as a co-showrunner at the end of October.
Does that change anything at all?
I know the scripts were finished by then.It didnt really [change anything].
I mean, weve all been working on this for a very long time, so were good.
NEXT:It was almost like a checklist, like, Wheres our great Luke and Jessica scene?
Wheres our Danny and Matt scene?'
Thats the world were dealing with, so it couldnt be anything too sci-fi or too supernatural or big.
Thats the stuff of the movies.
Itll be one satisfying, self-contained piece.
Does this mean we wont see other villains return, the ones who are still alive?
[Laughs] I dont think we should be expecting anything.
I gotta be cagey on that too.
What about how you would blend the four shows?
Theyre all about someone who has some major flaw and some major crisis and also heroically somehow overcomes it.
We thought about the tone as its own thing.
Its about making sure this thing is something that could encapsulate all four worlds.
In some cases they dont know who each other are, but in some cases, they do.
Are you an enemy, or are you a friend?
But in terms of their individual character arcs, it was basically taking the questions that were posted.
What do they, as they come out of their own seasons, need?…
We never wanted anyone to feel like theyre a guest on anyone elses show.
Its weirdly about all four of them.
Its about all of their collective stories finally folding in on each other.
I mean, you dont have to have seen any of the other shows to come to this.
Were not entering the world of capes and superheroes.
Were taking our cues from shows likeThe WireandThe Shield.
How did you go about mixing and matching characters?
Danny and Matts relationship is really exciting to me.
The Luke and Jessica and Danny dynamic is exciting.
And that may be one of the most fun parts of the show to some people.
Everyone needs a relationship with everyone else here.
So what does that mean?
Where does that lead?
It was almost like a checklist, like, Wheres our great Luke and Jessica scene?
Wheres our Danny and Matt scene?
Im also curious about that mixing when it comes to the fight scenes.
How did you go about that?
Its making sure each of the characters can really pop.
Icansay that they are all super strong-willed.
So how should this miniseries be viewed?
Should it be binged because its shorter?
Its like, build your own adventure, even though the adventure is what its going to be.
[Laughs] Its just kind of my taste as a writer.
What is the timeline of the story?
Over the course of these eight episodes, will we be seeing many months pass or days?
Do they all run in real time and culminate in, like, an hour?
[Laughs] Yeah, an hour would be great, every episode is, like, 10 minutes.
[Laughs] No, I will say that once were in, we move pretty fast.
The story is kind of a shot of adrenaline to the neck.
And then the trick afterThe Defendersis, you know, not doing a story like this again.
[Laughs]
Marvels The Defendershits Netflix summer 2017.
