Sigourney Weaver Teases Alexandra’s Agenda In The Defenders

If you’d like to go into The Defenders blind, we suggest you click away to one of our other fine articles.

Sigourney Weaver plays Alexandra, the so-called villain of The Defenders who we still know absolutely nothing about. After talking to Finn Jones, Mike Colter and Charlie Cox at San Diego Comic-Con, it’s obvious she’s not a clear-cut villain. One of The Defenders may even be easily swayed to join her cause, as Finn Jones went so far to call her agenda “relatable.”

The relationship between Danny and Alexandra is potentially one of the most interesting in the The Defenders, because of Iron Fist’s direct connection with The Hand and Madame Gao, who we know has been alive long enough to see the previous incarnations of the Iron Fist. The Hand and its affiliates have a peculiar interest in Iron Fist that hasn’t been fully explained yet on the series.

“I consider Iron Fist an innocent,” Weaver told Player.One at San Diego Comic-Con. “I have been around a lot longer than he has and he’s very idealistic and very passionate. Given enough time I’m sure I could win him over to my point of view. I’m sure that’s true for Luke Cage -- I could put a lot of resources in Harlem. If I had the time to win each of them over, I could, but when they come together it’s very hard to isolate them.”

The Defenders takes place over the course of just one week. That’s a lot of ground to cover, but Weaver teased Alexandra isn’t one to get her hands dirty--after all, each main cast member of The Defenders has a color and hers is white.

“I was surprised to find my character's color was white, though in the end I came to love it. It’s very elegant and [for] someone who doesn't get their hands dirty. I don't think she ever pretends to be anything other than she is. I think she thinks it's a shame that these guys are so young, they can't see the way the world works and they are going to try to make a difference where they can and they are so talented but if they came to work for me, they could really get somewhere.”

Because Alexandra’s one to work more behind-the-scenes, we may not see her amid fight scenes and action as much as fans may have hoped.

“I think she has all those skills. I think she has several, a number of, frankly ninjas who will protect her so that I don't really need to get sweaty myself,” Weaver said after revealing she has a red belt in karate. “But I think in the past, she has done all those things but now she has a protective group around her which we all deserve in this world.”

Alexandra does have a secret weapon in Elektra, whom we know from trailers does come back to life as a mysterious entity known as “black sky.” The purpose of Black Sky is still unclear, but Alexandra doesn’t only think of Elektra as a weapon, she cares at least a little bit.

“It was very natural to believe in Elodie [Yung] and try and take her under my wing up to a point and I think that my character is very sincere about the relationship. I thinks she wants to be a mentor to Elektra and I think she would actually love to mentor all of the four heroes. Unfortunately, they have some pesky tendency to be idealistic which I feel they will grow out of but they haven't at this stage so they become unfortunately my enemies.”

What will be most interesting to see after The Defenders debut is who Alexandra aligns with. The Hand has weaved through the entire Marvel-Netflix universe. Why haven’t we seen or heard about her until now? A recent Defenders teaser revealed Alexandra and Stick are “old friends.” But so far, it’s been Madame Gao as the mysterious force that seems to tie everything together. When I asked Weaver if Alexandra will overshadow Gao, she said, “I certainly hope so.”

“I think Madame Gao is awesome. We have a very interesting relationship. There’s never any security in the world and it’s a lesson one has to learn again and again.”

There are still so may questions to be answered about The Hand, Madame Gao, Ku’n Lun, Stick and the ancient opposing forces that seem to be running New York City. However, when The Defenders ends, it may be up to the fans to put the pieces together about Alexandra.

“I think we build the information with each show. But I think they purposely don’t want you to know too much about her because it is written from The Defenders’ point of view. You get glimpses into her life, I think pretty intimate glimpses, but ultimately it’s about these forces coming together.”

Any theories about who Alexandra is and why she wants to destroy New York? Let us know in the comments and check out our review. The Defenders arrives on Netflix Aug. 18.

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