'Jessica Jones' Season 2 Will Be Directed Entirely By Women
Although I mostly like Daredevil and I was quite fond of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones remains the crown jewel of the Marvel Netflix shows. The series is a real "Best of Both Worlds" situation, combining Daredevil's knack for stylish action with Luke Cage's keen attention to location and character. And it does while also being very much its own thing with its own unique perspective that also fits snugly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I loved it.
Of course, one of the reasons Jessica Jones feels so fresh is that it's the rare Marvel story built entirely around a female lead and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and her team leaned heavily on this fact, offering a first proper look at the MCU through the eyes of a woman. And now, the upcoming second season of the show is looking to double down on this angle as every single episode will be helmed by a female director.
This news was initially revealed by Variety's Mo Ryan, who was in attendance at Rosenberg's panel at the Transform Hollywood symposium and relayed the announcement on Twitter. It's still early days for Jessica Jones season 2, so names of potential directors were not shared. After all, the new season won't even go before cameras until next year, after The Defenders (which will team-up Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and Iron Fist for a big crossover that will see them battling Sigourney Weaver) has finished filming.
Although female directors like S.J. Clarkson, Rosemary Rodriguez, and Uta Briesewitz did helm some of Jessica Jones' first season, nine of the thirteen episodes ultimately credited men as directors. Rosenberg explicitly hiring only women for the second season is a loud statement in the face of a male-dominated industry. And let's be honest: anyone who thinks that this kind of progressive approach to filmmaking isn't necessary is almost assuredly a man. The stories of double standards being applied to women in Hollywood are too many to count and it will take showrunners like Rosenberg taking aggressive (and yes, political) stands like this to help balance the scales.
Plus, the feminine perspective of Jessica Jones could benefit from having women behind the camera...especially artists who can possibly relate to a female superhero who lives in a world dominated by glorified men flying through the skies while she battles her personal demons on the mean streets below.
There is no release date for Jessica Jones season 2 yet, but it will arrive some time after Iron Fist and The Defenders.