With the debut of Jessica Jones coming up in just a few weeks, fans are waiting to see of Netflix and Marvel can duplicate the success they had earlier this year with Daredevil. The darker, grittier side of Marvel adaptations appears to have found a home, and while most of the titles have been progressing nicely, there’s one on their docket that just hasn’t come together: Iron Fist. Now a new rumor making the rounds indicates that, while an adaptation is still in the works, we may see it as a movie instead of a series.
According to Peel The Orange, a source from within the Marvel creative world who understandable wishes to remain nameless, but one who has fed them reliable information before and whom they trust, says that, instead of an episodic series, Marvel will now turn Iron Fist into a Netflix exclusive feature. This is just a rumor at this point, and with no facts backing it up it should be taken with a grain of salt, but it is an intriguing proposition.
While Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and even Luke Cage have been moving along at a steady clip—Season 2 of Daredevil hits next year, Jessica Jones is almost upon us, and Luke Cage will play a big part in JJ before getting his own series—with Iron Fist, there have been issues. There have been reported disagreements on what direction they want to take the character, especially with his more mystical elements, which is a departure in the Netflix realm, which are more grounded and street level. And though there have been rumors, the part has not been cast yet either.
Making a movie instead of a series gives the creators the chance to focus more on a single storyline rather than having to try to fill an entire season. They would also have more time to develop the film, and a bigger budget without having to stretch it out over ten or 13 episodes.
If this report does in fact turn out to be true, which, again, is a big if at this point, there’s even more to get excited about. We know that the Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, will show up in Daredevil Season 2, which is something fans have been getting pumped up about. And while Iron Fist may not happen as a series, Punisher could replace him as one of the four Defenders, and he could wind up getting his own string of episodes.
That’s something worth getting excited about. With the dark, violent nature of the character, one of the issues with bringing the Punisher to the screen has been trying to tone down the gratuitous violence for the MPAA. But the character and his brutal vigilante antics seem tailor made for the near-pitch-black aesthetic the Netflix Marvel shows are going for.
We’ll have to wait for a while to see if any of this actually pans out, but for now we have Jessica Jones to look forward to, and every episode will be available on Netflix starting November 20.
