Having finished both Daredevil and Jessica Jones in a matter of 6 days, you could say I'm on a bit of a Marvel Netflix high right now. However, I couldn't help to think that both shows felt very disconnected from the world that the Avengers live in. Sure the occasional mention of "the big green guy" is nice, but without those little throw away lines, the shows would feel like their own seperate universe. Maybe that's the point, but I for one hope to one day see Charlie Cox's Daredevil fighting alongside Captain America and Spiderman.
I love the idea of street level heros and I do believe that, seperately, these heros would not end up on the Avengers' radar, but when they eventually come together to form the Defenders, that would probably be something of note for Earth's Mightiest Heros. There needs to be a tangible connection between the team and I have three ways in which this can come about.
Nick Fury
The mysterious Nick Fury, brought to life brilliantly by Sam Jackson, seems like a guy who knows the streets fairly well. He may have risen to be one of the most powerful men in the world, but in CA:TWS, he makes mention of his time growing up with his grandpa. I don't want some kind of cheap connection that seems extremely forced, but if the writers could somehow find a way to tie Nick Fury to Hell's Kitchen, then an incredible episode of Nick Fury bad-assery would be highly likely. We've also seen that Sam Jackson is willing to appear in Marvel TV shows from his multiple appearances on Agents of SHIELD. It's a plausible happening that would directly tie the Defenders to the Avengers. And who knows? Maybe during the Infinity War Nick Fury could use some back up and the Defenders are the ones he calls. That'd be cool.
Undercover Avenger
The formation of a new super team may get the attention of the Avengers all on its own. Seeing as there are no other super teams that we know of in the MCU, this could be something they want to investigate all on their own. I could see some kind of secondary character in the series playing as if they are on the Defenders' side so that they can get information and then in the final few episodes rip off a hologram mask to reveal Black Widow or undo a hex to reveal Scarlet Witch. It would be natural and explainable and it would place an actual Avenger with the Defenders fighting side by side. Imagine the levels of epicness!
Bring One Up
My final suggestion is to bring a Defender up to the movies. There have been rumors of Iron Fist being in Doctor Strange. Maybe Jessica Jones finds her way into Captain Marvel. Or Antman happens to be in New York and enlists the help of Daredevil. There are a lot of possibilities for bringing a Defender onto the big screen as a supporting character and judging by Cox, Ritter and Coulter, the talent level of these Defenders can hold up well with the talent in the movies. It wouldn't be mismatched or cheapen the movies in any way. I would personally lose my mind if Daredevil got some sort of appearance in Civil War. Just saying.
So those are my ideas for increasing the roles of some of my favorite characters in the MCU. Let me know your thoughts below!