Despite things going smoothly creating Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage for Netflix, Marvel hasn’t been as open about how Iron Fist is going. There’s barely been any news regarding its development, let alone a casting announcement, and it was recently rumored their is a plan to give Iron Fist his own movie on Netflix rather than a 13-episode series. It’s still unclear exactly what’s going on behind the scenes, but Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada has now confirmed that Iron Fist is still in development in some form.
Quesada set the record straight to IGN that Iron Fist is still in the works, though he wouldn’t specify in exactly what capacity the hero would eventually be seen. He said:
I’m pretty involved. I’m not on set every day but I’m pretty involved. Iron Fist is being worked on. That’s all I can say.
Despite Iron Fist being part of the original Marvel Netflix series announcement in 2013, 2015 has seen some peculiar rumors about how it’s being handled. It was reported earlier this year Marvel was having trouble figuring out where to take the character in his show, with specific problems concerning the character’s mystical elements. Then last month, we heard that instead of getting a TV series, Iron Fist would be given his own Netflix-exclusive movie. That open series slot would then be given to The Punisher, who is debuting in Daredevil Season 2, and the gun-toting vigilante would take Iron Fist’s spot on The Defenders. Quesada’s comments don’t exactly clarify what the situation is with Iron Fist, but assuming the project doesn’t get completely scrapped, at least fans can take solace knowing they’ll eventually see him in live action… somehow.
Admittedly, Iron Fist does have a much different background compared to his fellow Netflix heroes. Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are more grounded in the real world, while Iron Fist’s abilities come from channeling his chi, in addition to his fighting skills, of course. It’s almost certain the creative team behind Iron Fist knew about his background going into it, but perhaps it proved harder for them to formulate a story that had the same kind of tone as its predecessors as time went on. One of the upsides to Iron Fist getting his own movie is that it would receive a bigger budget, but considering how Daredevil Season 1 was commended for its storytelling over 13 episodes, it’s questionable whether an Iron Fist movie could tell an equally good story in just two hours even with better visual effects.
If you watched the Daredevil episode “Stick,” you know Marvel’s already setting the stage for Iron Fist to play a key role in Marvel’s Netfix ventures. We’ll just have to wait for more information on whether fans get to watch his adventure unfold over a season or a movie.
