In very early 2014, when Drew Goddard was still show-runner on Daredevil, in fact, I (rather aggressively) pursued a job on Jessica Jones. I was fortunate enough to take a meeting, which was a phenomenal experience, and though I had some folks in my corner, I lost out on the gig. I wrote an original superhero-themed pilot and a full breakdown of a potential season to show my stuff, and though things didn’t pan out—the effort really kept me in the running for a while. Here’s what I came up with at the time. Remember, this was January of 2014…so one or two changes may have taken place in the MCU since then.
https://carlreid00.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/jessica-jones-season-1-outline-submitted-for-nexflix/
UPDATE: Here's what proof I'm comfortable providing for those who asked. Below are some pics (back and front) of the business card I was given at the end of the meeting, obviously, personal information redacted. This likely won't satsify everyone, but it's what I can offer:
http://imgur.com/a/fpcZ5#FyAs04x
It was the early days, before the writers’ room was even assembled, obviously, but I did learn a few things about the direction of the show. I can’t divulge anything specific, and much certainly may have changed since then, but generally, here are a few things I gathered will stay the same and some others that will change.
Keepers:
1. Jessica will be a victim of severe trauma
Anyone who’s read
Alias knows that one of the most crucial aspects of the Jessica Jones character is her strength psychologically, which far eclipses any of her physical abilities. A victim of a horrific, mental mind-game at the hands of the Purple Man, Jessica struggles daily with triggered memories and flashbacks that force her to relieve that unspeakable crime over and over again.
Whether they will take it as far as the comics did remains to be seen, as it seems Tenant’s Killgrave has had a few shades (sorry) of sympathy added to his character, following the model set by D’onofrio’s Kingpin. Either way, though, this indispensable dramatic beat will play throughout the course of the season, teased out in flashback.
2. Tone
As a
MAX title, Alias was a refreshingly adult series that didn’t pull any punches with its mature subject matter. As with
Daredevil before it, a solid
MA rating is expected, given the dark humor the series employs, along with Jessica’s frequent potty mouth. From what I heard about a particular neighbor character, I’m expecting the series to take the mature comedic tone much further than the comics ever did. My sense is that Krysten Ritter’s Jess will be more sarcastically quippy and generally comedic than the awkward, introverted character of the books, but overall, it seems the series will stay true to the acerbic notion of what a complete and utter mess having super-powers would create for a real, live human being. Though perhaps not quite as noir-tinged, Jessica will also be taking up strange (again, often darkly humorous) cases to make ends meet.
3. Luke for Scott Lang
Due to the traumatic event experienced when she first attempted to don a cape, Jessica enjoys a very complicated and fearful relationship with her powers. In short, she rather hates them and really sucks at using them. This makes her initially pretty hesitant to get involved with another powered person, who, in the original series, for most of its run, is Scott Lang. But his persistence wears her down, and eventually, she opens up to him (and the reader) in ways that help her to grow.
She also hooks up with Luke in the midst of all this, and they get together again when Jess discovers she’s pregnant…but it seems given that Luke will be a much greater presence from the beginning of the show than he was in the series. I’d bet Jessica remains equally apprehensive at first about the relationship (which, again, will likely begin as a super-powered hook up) as she was with Scott in the books, but over-time, their attraction and commitment will deepen as Jessica begins to break down her defensive walls.
Changes:
1. No deconstruction of superhero tropes
The thing that entertained me most about
Alias when it was initially published, other than Jessica herself, was Bendis’s skewed take on the superhero world. I remember my pitch at the meeting regarding what the series was ultimately going for was: what if Stan Lee had said, “Sure, a radioactive spider bite gave this teenager superpowers…but it also gave him terminal cancer”? That was the revaluation of the glossy, idealized panels that Bendis was after and nailed so effectively.
How would the world really be if narcissists and psychopaths in pajamas were constantly detonating Midtown? How would the average person feel in a reality dominated by that level of violence and mayhem, where they had zero sense of control? Maybe MGH would the country’s biggest club drug, functioning as an escape—allowing mortals to feel what it’s like to have power over their lives again. Maybe rampant prejudice against non-humans might drive a teen girl to run away. Maybe if you’re a fifteen-year old armed in spandex, things might not go so swimmingly for you the very first time you go up against a hyper-powered, career criminal and convicted, serial murder. …You might damage something significantly more in the fight than your costume.
But the current MCU is still too grounded, in order to appeal to general audiences, for the show to really riff on too many archetypes, beyond Jessica vs. the average hero. It seems that she, Luke, and Killgrave will be standout entities in an otherwise more normal world.
2. Limited guest stars
Similarly, don’t expect too many MCU incarnations of 616 characters to be popping up in the series.
Daredevil was jam-packed with cameos and reinventions, but Jessica inhabits an even more grounded side of NYC, it would seem. While this is a bit disheartening, it makes sense as the show attempts to seek out a different demographic with its material, as well as distinguish itself as an independent and unique entity from the
Daredevil series. Of all the Marvel properties,
Jessica Jones seeks to be the one crossover audiences with no special fondness for superheroes can connect to the most. I was directly told as much. Sadly, that means no Rick Jones episode. And it is super unfortunate that given Peter Parker’s current MCU age, we won’t get a Midtown High flashback of Jess’s first love…even though it is now actually possible following the Marvel/Sony deal.
3. Killgrave
The full details of Jessica’s past will be teased through the season before a full revelation, but rather than save Killgrave for the grand finale, he will be a series regular, harassing Jessica throughout the show. But instead of portraying him as the complete monster of Jessica’s endlessly recurring nightmares, it seems the relationship between the two will be quite complicated, and the villain will be given moments where the audience understands the origins and potential skewed reasoning behind his evil. How this plays out exactly will be interesting to see, as it’s quite a departure from the completely skin-crawling, sociopathic, libertine sadist Bendis reappropriated for his series in one of the most twisted retcons ever written. It’s also possible he may not, actually, be purple…but I’m hoping his true colors will be digitally added at some point when he uses his powers.
So, there you have it. I’m not privy to too much more, but that’s as much as I can say. I hope you enjoy my outline, should you check it out. Let me know what you’re most looking forward to in the upcoming
Jessica Jones in the comments!