Marvel’s Jessica Jones, or simply Jessica Jones, is an upcoming American web television series developed for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that will lead up to a Defenders crossover miniseries. The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Tall Girl Productions, with Rosenberg serving as show runner.
Krysten Ritter stars as Jones, a former superhero who opens her own detective agency after an end to her superhero career. David Tennant, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, and Wil Traval also star. A version of the series was originally in development by Rosenberg for ABC in 2010, that was eventually passed on. By late 2013, Rosenberg reworked the series, when it reentered development for Netflix as A.K.A. Jessica Jones. Ritter was cast as Jones in December 2014, with production on Jessica Jones beginning in New York City in February 2015 and lasting until late August.
All episodes are set to premiere Friday November 20, 2015 on Netflix.
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones:
A former superhero suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who opens her own detective agency, Alias Investigations. Ritter stated that she read through Alias in preparation for the role and expressed delight in working with executive producer and show runner Melissa Rosenberg. On adapting the character from the comics, Jeph Loeb stated, “Jessica Jones is based on a much more adult comic. The source material came that way. She has real problems with a number of things that she abuses! And we’re not shying away from that. There’s no tidying her up.” Comparing the character to Matt Murdock in Marvel’s Daredevil, Rosenberg said, “They’re very different kinds of characters. Jessica is about paying rent and getting the next client. She’s dealing with a fairly dark past. She’s trying to get through the day. She’s not really trying to save the city. She’s trying to save her apartment. At her core, she does share something with Matt Murdock, and he’s a little more aware of it, that she wants to do something good. She wants to contribute to the world. But, there are a lot of personality issues for her that can get in the way. … Matt Murdock has been studying martial arts. He has extraordinary fighting skills. Jessica Jones is a brawler. She gets drunk, she gets pissed off and boom, you’re down. She doesn’t wear a costume. She doesn’t have a mask. She’s just who she is. She’s an extremely blunt, direct person, and that applies to the action, as well.” Ritter called playing the character the “biggest acting challenge” in her career and praised the character development.
David Tennant as Kilgrave: A man from Jones’s past, whose reappearance shakes up her life. Loeb compared him to Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, saying “there are going to be times [watching Daredevil] when you’re uncomfortable because you’re not quite rooting for Matt, you’re kind of rooting for Wilson, and it’s the same kind of thing you’re going to find in Jessica. There’s going to be moments where some of the things that she does is pretty questionable. And some of the things that, when you learn about Kilgrave’s character and the way that David Tennant plays that character, it’s really extraordinary.
Mike Colter as Luke Cage:
A man with superhuman strength, unbreakable skin, and a mysterious past that Jones encounters in the course of an investigation and who changes her life immensely. Colter described Cage as “a neighborhood hero, very much linked to New York and Jessica Jones. He is a darker, grittier, more tangible character than Iron Man or Thor. He likes to keep things close to his chest, operate on the hush-hush. He has these abilities but he’s not sure how and when to use them.” Loeb said the character “is important to the show, and he is certainly important to the story of Jessica Jones and who she is. It would not be Jessica Jones unless you at least understood how Luke affected her life and where she is.” He also added that the series sees Luke Cage “not quite in the middle, but in the early part of the middle” of his story, and that Marvel’s Luke Cage allows Marvel to “tell a great deal of story that happens before, and a great deal of story that happens afterwards.”
Rachael Taylor as Trish “Patsy” Walker:
A former model and child star who is Jones’s best friend and now works as a radio host. Marvel had offered the character to Rosenberg to fit a best friend role that she had wanted to include, to which Rosenberg replied “We can do that. That will work.” Speaking about the character, Loeb said, “what’s most important is the relationship between her and Jessica, and how these two women who are, in some ways, sisters, in terms of their friendship, could be that different, and yet believe in the same kinds of things. That question of, what is it to be a hero and the responsibilities that you have when you have abilities, is something that brings them together, but also continually pushes them apart. I think we’re very lucky to have Melissa as a writer because she really grasps the insight of what it is to have a friendship with a woman, and the way that two women can actually be competitive and friendly, and love each other and hate each other, and have a history with each other.”
Carrie-Anne Moss as Harper: An authoritative person and potentially powerful ally to Jones.
Eka Darville as Malcolm: Jones’ neighbor, whose personal journey intertwines with hers.
Erin Moriarty as Hope: A client of Alias Investigations.
Wil Traval as an NYPD officer who is very serious about his job.
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