Hawkeye and Black Widow were not given films, but appeared in the first Avengers film. It is entirely possible that superheroes other than Daredevil, Power Man, Iron Fist, and Jewel could appear on the Defenders or even crossover from series to series--uniting the four big heroes.

Who are the candidates? Based on the characters we have so far, I'd say:

Misty Knight and Colleen Wing

Shang Chi

Elektra

Cloak and Dagger

Get excited.

Prowler... I am struggling for more street level heroes... Perhaps Cloak and Dagger? Maybe some of the kids from Avengers Academy could fall under Cage and Iron Fist's wing, keeping the kids out of the clutches of SHIELD?

Incidentally, and I know he's not a hero, but I wonder if Mr. Negative left with Spider-Man...

@captain13: Maybe she hulk? (they were planning on bringing her in anyway)

Namor? Surfer?

I think the only notable name i would not want to see is strange

He needs a movie, not a show.

Can they use Surfer? Wouldn't that be in violation of Fox's contract for the rights to the character?

Fox traded Surfer and Galactus back to Marvel for a time extension on the Daredevil rights. That extension ran out uneventfully, returning Daredevil to Marvel as well.

^^^

So as far as i know, SS is back with DD to Defend the MU :)

@jonsmith: Mr. Negative could be a cool villain. He, Tombstone, Hammerhead, Meachum, and Kingpin could be up to some pretty nasty business in some kind of gang war. If we are talking villains, Bullseye and Taskmaster may show up.

Maybe Hawkeye will show up if the story is set in present day, since he doesn't seem to have a big role in phase 2. If it's set in the 1970s, it would be cool to see Coulson as a child who is inspired by what he sees on the streets. Heck, if it's set in the past, it would be cool to see Bullseye train Hawkeye--which could explain why he was hesitant to kill Black Widow before the Avengers. He can relate. :)

White Tiger, Moon Knight, and Punisher will probably get their own series in tv phase 2.

@arkbound: I think Strange, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther are the Phase 3 heroes.

She-Hulk may show up, but I find it unlikely. We may just see pre-She-Hulk Jennifer Walters litigate against Matt Murdoch. Doc Samson is more likely because he would be cheaper, but I don't think he'd have powers. Too many people with just Super Strength.

Re. Silver Surfer and Namor: I think they are keeping things street level.

@captain13: Keeping thing Street? Okay how about Black Cat? Sony totally wants to get in Marvels good books.

Then there is also look shots

Druid

Hellcat

Hellstrom

Oh, MAN. I know it's impossible, but imagine an episode or short where Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Ruffalo's Banner are working in the lab, and they get a message on the news that Jennifer Walters was shot, forcing Bruce to take some sedatives, and Stark to armor up, flying them to the hospital to check on her.

We've all been there, sitting in the waiting room on someone we care about. Now imagine a short with Tony sitting there in full armor reading a magazine, and everyone else sitting as far away from Bruce as they can as he pops sedative after sedative. End the short with Bruce rigging up a blood transfusion, and that night, Jen opening her eyes, turning green.

... Eh, maybe it's just me who'd want to see that...

@arkbound: I could definitely see those--especially once Iron Fist introduces magic to the universe. Maybe Daisy Johnson may show up later on.

That is such a badass idea, I think it may happen on film, haha. The only think with She-Hulk is the question of how if she should be and how much cgi you need.

Are you sure? Here it says that Fox decided not to trade the rights... http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/fox-is-not-trading-its-film-rights-back-to-marvel-studios/

And here it says Marvel still doesn't have the rights to the Surfer... http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/stan-lee-thinks-a-silver-surfer-movie-is-inevitable

@captain13: If they go magic, i want them to choose hellstrom (they won't cause of the possible religious audience)

I think:

Luke

Iron Fist

Daughters of the Dragon

Shang Chi

Cloak and Dagger

Black Cat

Hellstrom

@arkbound: Hellstrom would be cool, but I could also see Marvel using Hellstrom and Brother Voodoo as side characters in the Dr. Strange film. Those guys are pretty powerful. And isn't Black Cat going to be in the next Spider-man film?

I'm really hoping they use Moon Knight.

@br_havoc: I think Moon Knight and Punisher are being saved for later phases. Moon Knight seems like a hero who may need to be saved for a later phase anyway because only a superhero would call themselves "Moon Knight." Plus, he can probably hold his own series.

Punisher is too violent for the rest of the group to join up. I think he will get his own series that builds up to a more violent Marvel team with a name like the Enforcers or something. He could work alongside Blade and Elektra or something like that.

Winter Soldier

why not spiderman...

In edition to some of the others that have been mentioned... I actually think Spiderman would be an awesome Netflix series and add to the Defenders.It would be to serve as a Segway into what Spiderman is doing in the time in between movies. Considering he's the definition of a street level character it would make perfect sense in my opinion and really do you need a huge movie budget for what Spidey does.

Cloak and Dagger fit well too and a Netflix series for them would be awesome. Not sure I trust Freeform to get it right and I really wish Netflix had this.

I know also that New Warriors has something coming out but it's with Squirrel Girl and I think it's all comedy. I thought there was more depth to their stories as opposed to comic relief and silliness. I would love to see Justice and Firestar in some way. And I feel like they fit well as part of the Defenders too.

I know Black Widow is in the movies and all but really not much has been told about her and her story. I think a series about her would be great and could be on Netflix or ABC