Speaking about The Defenders and the other TV characters, I was actually thinking about this particular quote from the Russo's a few days ago:
In March 2016, the Russos explained that they were exploring new ways to deliver additional material to audiences for the films, usually reserved for physical home media releases. Given the declining sales for Blu-ray and DVD, Anthony stated, "We're just in the beginning phases of figuring [this] out. Yes, DVDs are gone but there is this wonderful internet platform out there called YouTube." One example he provided was creating "more elaborate versions of trailers ... that are shot specifically for online that will never appear in the movie but that may appear as a kind of short film."
Next year, I could potentially anticipate Marvel Entertainment releasing a lot of online content to help promote
Infinity War, sort of like how a lot of online stuff was released to promote the
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, where Paul McGann shot an elaborate mini-story, along with some other in-universe content. I could see Marvel adopting a similar strategy, placating fans of the TV shows by releasing an online mini-movie, in conjunction with Netflix, which could reveal what the Defenders were up to during the events of the film, which could perhaps even find them interacting with one of the more minor movie characters, like Hawkeye. That way, even if the TV characters didn't get to physically appear in the film, they would still feel at least tangentially connected to the event. It could be a really nice marketing strategy, releasing a short film to Netflix and their online channels, involving the Netflix characters, in a way that would actively promote Marvel's upcoming movie.
Again though, given the widening divide between Marvel's film and television departments, even that would be something of a deranged hope.
The only flicker of hope that remains is Daredevil appearing in a Spider-Man movie.
Honestly the only crossover I care about.
I mean, at least there's this...
But if we believe Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Eric Carroll, getting Daredevil (Charlie Cox) to show up on a future Spidey movie is just a matter of time. After all, as New York City-based street-level superheroes (and friends), Spider-Man and Daredevil often join forces in the pages of the Marvel comics to take down various thugs and supervillains threatening the Big Apple.
In a recent article over at Cinema Blend, Carroll revealed Homecoming won't feature a specific reference to the Man Without Fear, but if it were up to him, Matt Murdock would cross paths with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) "sooner rather than later." Here's what the producer said:
”[He's] not specifically referenced in this movie, no. I think that's something we all think would be really fun, and it's definitely a card I would love to see played, if not sooner rather than later. But as of now, it's not referenced in this movie."
If that ever happens though, watch Charlie Cox get recast in the role.