Forgotten Marvel Star Ignites Return Buzz After New Defenders Photos Emerge

If you thought the old-school Marvel Netflix crew was out to pasture, a recent Instagram post might make you rethink that. Let me walk you through this little swirl of comic book TV drama that has, somehow, gotten fans' hopes up that we might see another familiar face in the MCU fold.

Instagram: Still Where News Happens, Apparently

Here's the deal: Mike Colter (a.k.a. Luke Cage) dropped a photo on Instagram with Finn Jones (Iron Fist) and Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones). Now, posting a group selfie isn’t exactly a contract signing, but it’s enough to get the rumor mill turning, especially considering the trio’s history in 'The Defenders' and all those canceled Netflix shows. Fans are taking this as a hint they're showing up together again in 'Daredevil: Born Again' (yep, the reboot over on Disney+).

All fine and fairly predictable so far. But things got spicier in the comments section.

Jessica Henwick Pops Up—Let the Speculation Begin

Jessica Henwick, who played Colleen Wing (honestly one of the few highlights from 'Iron Fist'), jumped in with a comment: face with tears of joy emoji and a yellow heart emoji. In the world of Marvel fan-dreams and emoji over-analysis, that's apparently a siren call. Cue the theories that Henwick’s Colleen might be headed for a comeback in season 3 of 'Daredevil: Born Again.' Mike Colter even replied to her with the notorious 'eyes' emoji. If you know fandom code, this is essentially blood in the water.

The Domino Effect

• Twitter/X accounts wasted zero time screenshotting and amplifying the exchange, adding their own emojis for maximum effect.
• One fan straight up wrote 'She’s back for sure.'
• This is extra juicy because Henwick’s been out of the Marvel loop for five years—if she’s returning, that’s a big deal for fans who thought Colleen Wing got the short end of the stick.

Wait, Didn’t Henwick Turn Down 'Shang-Chi'?

One 'Huh, interesting' bit of context: Back in 2021, Henwick told The Hollywood Reporter she actually dropped out of the running for Xu Xialing in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' specifically because she wanted to keep the door open for more Colleen Wing. (That role eventually went to Meng'er Zhang.) As Henwick put it at the time:

"If I did [Shang-Chi], I would effectively be putting Colleen to bed. It wasn’t the main factor, but it definitely came up in conversation. I love Colleen. She changed my life. Of course, if I was given the opportunity to revisit her, I would, but I just don't know how likely that is. Charlie [Cox] knew about that opportunity years ago. He already knew it was happening. I think I would have heard by now if there were any plans with Colleen."

Long story short: she wanted to come back, but didn’t sound confident it’d ever happen. Fast forward to today and…that Instagram emoji exchange is literally the closest thing we’ve got to news.

Where Things Stand

As of now—brace yourself—neither Marvel nor Henwick have dropped any official word on her returning to the MCU. All we've got is one eyebrow-raising Instagram post, a few emojis, and fans in full tinfoil-hat mode. In the meantime, you can actually watch 'Daredevil: Born Again' season 2, which is currently streaming on Disney+.

Marvel loves a swerve, so your guess is as good as mine. But if Henwick does pop up as Colleen again, it's honestly about time.