Jessica Jones Showrunner Says The TV Series Dares To Go Further Than The Comic Books



Melissa Rosenberg, the showrunner for Marvel's Jessica Jones has warned viewers to expect a very dark show when the show makes its debut on Netflix later this year. The thirteen part series stars Krysten Ritter as the titular Jessica with David Tennant, Mike Colter and Carrie-Anne Moss also among the cast. Rosenberg was speaking at the Showrunners' panel during the Netflix presentation on the first day of the 2015 TCA Summer Press Tour. 

Rosenberg has stressed that the show will be wildly different in tone and feel to Daredevil, the first of the five planned Netflix / Marvel co-productions in the Defenders series, explaining that they have pushed the edge really far.

“We exist in a cinematic universe. The mythology of the universe is connected, but they look very different, tonally they’re very different… That was my one concern coming in: Am I going to have to fit into Daredevil or what’s come before? And the answer is no, ” she said.


Elaborating on the dark tone of the show, Rosenberg explained that it all started with the amazing character that the original comics writer Brian Michael Bendis had created in Jessica.

“He created this incredibly flawed, damaged interesting character," she said. "Regardless of gender, it was the character that drew me. He wasn’t afraid to go there and we went even further. We’ve gone further in all of our storytelling. Is the audience going to respond to this or not? I don’t know, but if I’m afraid of it I’m doing the right thing.”

Anyone who has read the original story upon which the show is based, the MarvelMAX adult-orientated series Alias by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, will be aware of some of the darker themes, particularly the storyline involving David Tennant's character Killgrave

Rosenberg also revealed that Marvel fans could expect to see some fairly obscure characters making the jump from comics to screen. "We’re taking them all over the place. We have to be cognisant of the mythology and the world," she explained.

She also said that she was full of praise of the support she was receiving from Jeph Loeb and the team at Marvel. “What they’ve done is supported every single decision I’ve made,” she said.

Earlier in the day Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos confirmed that Marvel's Jessica Jones would premiere on the streaming service in the last quarter of 2015.


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