In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Defenders showrunner Marco Ramirez opened up about how Elektra’s death and resurrection were planned very early in the development.
In the early part of this year, fans were shocked to find that Elektra would be a major antagonist in The Defenders since she died in the finale of Daredevil Season 2. Ramirez explains Elektra’s character arc and how she finds herself in The Defenders.
**Warning there are spoilers for The Defenders below**
I definitely think [Marvel TV head] Jeph Loeb really wanted the idea of an Elektra resurrection storyline to be a part of her story,… And I think that once we got to where we got organically by the end of season 2 of Daredevil, the idea was pretty clear that she’s coming back.
As soon as it was decided that Elektra would be brought back, Ramirez and Loeb informed Elektra actress Elodie Yung. Yung for her part had a funny reaction to Elektra’s resurrection.
“When Jeph and I made the phone call to Elodie,” Ramirez revealed, “before the [script for the season 2 finale] came to her because she was getting killed, she was made aware [that Elektra would die in the finale]. We were like, ‘Hey, we’re really sorry you get killed. Also, though, you come back from the dead.’ She was kind of like, ‘So why are we having this phone call?’ Which was funny.”
Ramirez continued on how including Elektra was their way to honor the character’s comic book legacy.
But I would say half of [why we made her so important] was because it felt like that’s the story to tell. And she’s a major figure in the comics, she’s really beloved by the audience, and her resurrection storyline is very iconic.
In the reasoning behind Elektra’s murder of Alexandra played by Sigourney Weaver:
Right, none of them (The Defenders) would get to the place where they’re taking a life. They would really have to be pushed there… [Having Elektra kill Alexandra] felt more in terms with this conceptual mother-daughter dynamic that we wanted to explore thoroughly.
And the relation to this and her desire to have no master:
and for Elektra to basically say, ‘I have no master.’ To me, it’s organic in the writing of Elektra, because Elektra has been told by many people in her life what she is, whether it was Stick or Matt, it had been them telling her who she is…. So when she kills Alexandra, it’s really her saying, ‘People need to stop telling me who I am. This is who I am.’ And I think there’s something particularly interesting about that idea.
Crusading to make her own way with her own identity in life. Ramirez talks about the method Elektra used, rejection of what people want from her.
But yeah, that was very much a part of Elektra’s rejection of [Stick] as her paternal figure, and then her rejection of her maternal figure in her life, and then the rejection of the romantic figure in her life as well [when she fights Matt]. She’s really saying, ‘I am making my own destiny.’
I watched Marvel’s The Defenders over the weekend. The first season was what I was hoping for as Netflix’s first major superhero crossover. Elektra is a major part of Matt Murdock’s life and the influence she holds over it spilled over nicely. It was great seeing that play out in The Defenders this season.
The Defenders is currently streaming on Netflix. Head over and watch it and let us know what you think. Did the show meet your expectations? Let us know below!