A hero is only as good as his or her villain, as shown in Marvel/Netflix’s hit ‘Daredevil’ series, which featured Vincent D’Onofrio in the role as chief antagonist Wilson Fisk a.k.a. The Kingpin, squaring off against Charlie Cox as the title hero. Expect that to be a recurring theme with these shows, as Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television, advised to expect much of the same from their next program ‘Jessica Jones’ and its Big Bad Zebediah Killgrave, portrayed by David Tennant.
Loeb explained:
“In the same kind of way Vincent D’Onofrio owned his half of Daredevil, you’ll see David Tennant own his half of Jessica Jones… What you get out of Jessica is a sort of hold-your-breath tension as to what’s going to happen. When you see the dynamic between Krysten Ritter and David Tennant… that question of ‘What’s going to happen next?’ and ‘What could happen next?’ and how that’s driven by character is something that is so important to not just the scripts but also the way the show is shot, and the way that everyone reacts, and the way those two react with each other.”
In the comics, the mind-controlling Killgrave, also known as the Purple Man, possessed Jessica when she was still working as the super hero Jewel and forced her to do… bad things. He kept her in his thrall for several months, mentally torturing her and creating the broken person she was in her ‘Alias’ comic book series.
A similar mental enslavement will have occurred between the two characters prior to the beginning of the show (and will no doubt be embellished in flashbacks) and it will center on Jessica dealing with the return of a villain that essentially raped her psychically… well and physically, technically.
Jewel/Jessica isn’t a martial artist or acrobat like Daredevil, so don’t expect the same high-flying action sequences with this series. Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg described ‘Jessica Jones’ as more of a “psychological thriller” so Jessica’s confrontations with Killgrave should be more of a battle of wits.
Fans have clamored for Tennant to depict a Marvel character for years now and with ‘Jessica Jones’ they get their wish. Tennant has starred on British dramas ‘Broadchurch’ and ‘Gracepoint’ and voices Spitelout in the ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ movies and TV series, but of course is most recognizable as the Tenth Doctor on sci fi cult classic ‘Doctor Who’.
Expect him to really take a bite out of this sinister role on ‘Jessica Jones’ which is due to become available for streaming later this year. (No word on whether he will actually be purple… but I kinda doubt it.)
Are you excited to see Tennant share the screen with Krysten Ritter?
Source: Cinema Blend
