Dr. Who and Gracepoint star David Tennant will play the villainous Zebediah Kilgrave (The Purple Man) in the 2015 Netflix series Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, according to Entertainment Weekly.
In the comics, Kilgrave, a Yugoslavia native, was a former communist spy who was caught stealing a canister of nerve gas. A shot that narrowly missed Kilgrave punctured the canister releasing the gas and turning Kilgrave all purple, but also giving him the power to command and control people by secreting pheromones.
As The Purple Man, Kilgrave started a life of crime in New York City, eventually coming up against Jessica Jones (Jewel) and forced her into being his personal servant—subjecting her to daily humiliation.
In the new series, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter, Don’t Trust the B--- in Apt. 23) is rebuilding her life as a detective investigating cases of people with supernormal abilities in New York City.
As Jessica’s former nemesis, The Purple Man’s reappearance is sure to keep the former superhero’s nerves on end.
Executive Producer Melissa Rosenberg is excited to have Tennant as the new villain. “He can deliver the most heart-wrenching moment to the driest of lines, and all points in between. He'll make Kilgrave a truly original villain,” she said.
