Despite being emphatically killed in the Season 1 finale, it was revealed in August that Doctor Who alum David Tennant would reprise his role as the mind-controlling villain Kilgrave for the second season of the Marvel/Netflix drama Jessica Jones. Now, we have our first official look at the Kilgrave as he continues to haunt the show's eponymous, hard-drinking PI.
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Although several set photos made the rounds on Twitter over the summer, the new image, revealed by Entertainment Weekly, is the first official look at Tennant as Kilgrave in Season 2. Sporting a familiar deep-purple suit and a menacing glare, the villain appears alongside a visibly distraught Jessica, staring a hole straight through her head as she looks off into the distance.
"Well, as always, our show is very much about Jessica and her internal life and her struggle, and he’s such a part of her construction and her dilemma," showrunner Melissa Rosenberg told EW. "I think just having [Kilgrave] come back and be that mirror again is really important."
Krysten Ritter, who plays the titular heroine, also chimed in on Tennant's return and what it was like to share the screen with him again.
"Having David back on set was amazing," she said. "We had such a great run the first season, and it felt like a celebration, having him back. The content is maybe not much of a celebration [laughs], but having him be present and spending time with him on a personal level kind of felt like one. And I saw the photo that you’re running. It just took my breath away, because playing Jessica is the most creatively fulfilling series of my life, and also the most difficult. [Laughs] Seeing that photo, I was like, 'Oh my God!' My heart was broken for her all over again."
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Kilgrave is clearly in Jessica's personal space in this new image, as well as Malcolm's in the leaked set photos from this summer. Nevertheless, both characters seem to behave as if he’s not actually present. Having taken possession of both Jessica and Malcolm in the Season 1, it’s quite possible that Rosenberg referring to Kilgrave as a mirror means he left a part of his consciousness behind to haunt his victims from beyond the grave.
Based on the Marvel Comics character created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, Jessica Jones stars Krysten Ritter as the troubled, superpowered private investigator.
Ritter was last seen as the character in Marvel’s The Defenders, which is out now on Netflix.