David Tennant Hauntingly Evil In New ‘Jessica Jones’ Role

David Tennant has spent much of his on-air career as a force of good. That’s about to change, thanks to Jessica Jones.

David Tennant, portraying the evil Kilgrave, is the focus of the latest trailer for the upcoming Netflix series Jessica Jones. The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, a gritty private investigator who has super powers.

DAVID TENNANT IN THE NEW JESSICA JONES TRAILER I AM SO DEAD pic.twitter.com/dRrlU7meWH

— hel ? (@doctoorwho) November 10, 2015

David Tennant will play the villainous Kilgrave – also known as the Purple Man – who uses psychological warfare on titular super hero Jessica Jones. Piecing together clues from the Jessica Jones trailer, Kilgrave was once involved earlier in her life, and left such a profoundly negative impact on Jessica Jones that she suffers from a form of PTSD. Now as an adult, Kilgrave resurfaces, and Jessica Jones must find her inner strength in order to stop Kilgrave from harming others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3UYWK2jeX0

David Tennant is most known to fans as the Tenth British Dr. Who, whom he played from 2005 to 2013. David Tennant’s role in Jessica Jones may be his chance to show American viewers what he is capable of. His new character, Kilgrave, is spectacularly evil. As TV Guide reports, Kilgrave has made it his mission to torment Jessica Jones. Actress Erin Moriarty, who plays character Hope on Jessica Jones, described her character’s interaction with Kilgrave.

“He’s a really, really, really dark and manipulative force in these people’s lives. He’s probably one of the most powerful villains there is.”

Jessica Jones and Hope both become victims of David Tennant’s character. Rachael Taylor, who plays Trish “Patsy” Walker in the series, notes how Kilgrave impacts both of their lives.

“He is certainly a psychological villain in the sense that the damage that he does is very emotional and sinister in that way.”

So far, the trailer shows David Tennant’s portrayal of Kilgrave as similar, but more realistic than his comic book counterpart. While Kilgrave has purple skin in the comic book, David Tennant keeps his natural coloring, but is dressed all in purple. The brief trailer highlights Kilgrave’s mind control both on Jessica Jones and on others. In his comic book form, Kilgrave gets his psychic powers from a chemical spill. There is no word yet on if David Tennant’s version will maintain this back story.

David Tennant talks an “appalling” Kilgrave on Classic FM: David Tennant was the featured guest… https://t.co/IhaXv5WRuH #drwho #doctorwho

— WhoNews (@Who_News) November 16, 2015

Production for Jessica Jones wrapped in August, giving David Tennant time to prepare for another role in his personal life: father to a new baby girl. David Tennant’s wife Georgia Moffett gave birth to a girl, but other details such as a name or birth date have not yet been released. David Tennant has three other children: adopted son Ty, four-year-old Olive, and two-year-old Wilfred.

David Tennant confirmed the newest edition to his family during an interview on Absolute Radio on the Christion O’Connell Breakfast Show. As the Daily Mail reports, David Tennant was understandably excited about sharing the information, although he rarely discusses his private life.

Netflix has come under pressure because some have viewed David Tennant and other roles in Jessica Jones as too dark and realistic for a comic-based series, according to a previous report by the Inquisitr. Despite the dark tone, Jessica Jones, and CBS-owned Supergirl, are being heralded for opening doors for future female superheroes.

Netflix will release all 13 episodes of Jessica Jones on November 20, 2015, the second original Marvel series following Daredevil earlier this year. Netflix plans to have four series in all from the Marvel Universe. The third will be Marvel’s Luke Cage, and the fourth will be titled Marvel’s Iron Fist. Eventually, the superheroes from all four series will team up for a cross-over series, Marvel’s The Defenders.

Whether David Tennant as Kilgrave will make it to the cross-over series is unknown, but as the trailer shows, Jessica Jones wants to do everything in her power to stop him.

[Photo by Chris Jackson / Getty Images]