For much of 2015, what was going on with Netflix’s Iron Fist series was a mystery, but the last couple of months have seen news finally come out concerning its development. Dexter’s Scott Buck is serving as the showrunner, while Jessica Jones writer Scott Reynolds has reportedly been added to the staff. Now the biggest question is who will play the mystical martial artist. Despite no official announcement yet, Marvel may have already found the candidate.
During an interview with Luke Cage himself, Mike Colter, Collider asked the actor if he was looking forward to doing scenes between Luke and Iron Fist. This was his response:
The actor has been cast, but he’s in a basement somewhere. When the time is right, they’ll let him up and tell him where he is. I am [excited]. I’ll get a nice little break, after doing Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Whether I’m in [Iron Fist], I don’t know, but there’s The Defenders.
From the way it's worded, it seems the Jessica Jones and Luke Cage star has heard that Marvel has chosen someone to play the first live action Iron Fist. Understandably, he didn’t want to spill the beans, given how secretive Marvel is about their projects. If that holds true, hopefully some sort of announcement will be forthcoming in the next few months, if not later in the year. Since Mike Colter already seems to know about the Iron Fist actor, we wonder if Danny Rand might first appear on Luke Cage, given Luke and Danny’s friendship in the comics and having worked together as Heroes for Hire. Conversely, as Mike Colter notes, maybe Luke will stop by Iron Fist for a few episodes.
Speculation aside, all we know for certain is that Iron Fist will star in his own series, and then be one of the heroes featured in The Defenders miniseries. With Daredevil Season 2 premiering in March and Luke Cage rumored to air in November, the earliest we’ll likely see Iron Fist is sometime in 2017, either before or after Jessica Jones Season 2. So even though Iron Fist is moving slowly, at least some strides are being made.
No other characters aside from Iron Fist himself have been announced for the show, although it’s rumored that Jessica Jones star Carrie-Anne Moss will reprise Jeri Hogarth. There’s already been a few teases towards the MCU’s Iron Fist in the Netflix shows, primarily through the symbol on Madame Gao’s drug packets in Daredevil Season 1 being the same one worn by Iron Fist's enemy Steel Serpent. This will be the second MCU project to directly delve into mysticism, following Doctor Strange, though Agent Carter is currently dealing with some strange phenomena via the Darkforce.
We’ll keep you updated on any new details surrounding Iron Fist’s developments, but in the meantime, head over to Netflix to catch up on Marvel’s streaming offerings.
