Everything We Know About the Iron Fist TV Series So Far

With Luke Cage now officially out on Netflix, eyes are beginning to turn to Iron Fist, the final Marvel/Netflix television series that leads into the upcoming Defenders crossover show.

Although we now know that Iron Fist will be out in early 2017, information about the show is still a bit scarce. We know the show will focus on Danny Rand and his return to New York City after he went missing in the Himalayas as a child.

We also know that the show will stick close to Iron Fist’s kung fu roots and will feature several classic Marvel characters.

Here’s a rundown of all the information we could find on the Iron Fist television series. This feature will largely steer clear of any confirmed “spoilers”, although we will delve into some mild speculation and talk about Iron Fist’s comics origins.

Danny Rand – The Iron Fist

The main character of Iron Fist is Danny Rand, the heir to the Rand Enterprises empire and living weapon. As a child, Danny and his parents went missing in the Himalayas (the television show’s synopsis claims it was due to a plane accident) and were presumed dead. However, Danny survived the accident and discovered the mystical city of K’un-Lun, a mystical city that only appears on Earth once every few years. 

Trapped inside K’un-Lun for ten years, Danny learned martial arts and gained the power of the Iron Fist, a technique that allows him to summon focus his chi (his life force) into his fist and punch with superhuman force. When K’un-Lun returned to Earth after ten years, Danny returned home to New York, hoping to reclaim his family’s business and hunt down the person responsible for his parents’ deaths.

Danny will be played by Finn Jones, who is best known for playing Loras Tyrell on Game of Thrones. 

Supporting Cast

The Iron Fist television show will also feature members of the Meachum family, longtime acquaintances of the Rands who took control of Rand Enterprises after the Rands went missing in the Himalayas. 

David Wenham (Faramir from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) will play Harold Meachum, the new head of Rand Enterprises and a longtime friend of Danny’s parents. In the comics, Harold took advantage of a climbing accident to kill Danny’s father and professed his love for Danny’s mother. When Danny’s mother rejected Harold, he abandoned the pair in the Himalayas and returned to New York to take the Rand family fortune. 

Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey will play Joy and Ward Meachum, Harold’s children and Danny’s childhood friends. Both Joy and Ward worked with their father to build Rand Enterprises up after the Rand family disappeared and see Danny as a potential threat to their hard work. In the comics, Joy eventually becomes an ally to Danny but Ward (who is Harold’s brother in the comics) is a recurring enemy to Iron Fist and his friends. 

Not all of Iron Fist‘s cast has a connection to Danny Rand’s past. Jessica Henwick (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Game of Thrones) will play Colleen Wing, one of Marvel’s other kung fu superheroes. Colleen is Misty Knight’s best friend and a longtime ally of Iron Fist. Although she doesn’t have any superpowers, Colleen is a master swordswoman and martial artist. We got our first tease of Wing in the Luke Cage series when Claire Temple sees an ad for Colleen’s self-defense class on a telephone pole.

Ties to the Rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel has dropped several teases to Iron Fist in Daredevil. It’s heavily inferred that Madam Gao, Fisk’s drug manufacturer, is originally from K’un-Lun or one of its sister cities. Gao marks her heroin with a symbol usually associated with Steel Serpent, an exiled K’un-Lun warrior and enemy to Iron Fist.

A popular fan theory is that Gao is actually the Crane Mother, the ruler of the Legendary City of K’un-Zi, who has a personal vendetta against the Iron Fist legacy. 

Foggy also reads about a “lost city” in a second season episode of Daredevil. 

Daredevil and Rand also have a less obvious connection. A “behind the scenes” photo of the Daredevil set showed that the truck involved in the accident that blinded Matt Murdock was owned by “Rand Oil and Chemicals”. 

We can also expect to see several characters from other Marvel/Netflix series. Carrie Anne Moss will reprise her role as Jeri Horgath, Jessica Jones’ lawyer client and ally. Horgath will help Danny try to reacclimate to modern civilization and the nuances of corporate takeovers. In the comics, Horgath was Danny Rand’s attorney and became the attorney for Danny’s Heroes for Hire team. 

While not confirmed, it’s widely expected that Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple will appear in Iron Fist as she’s appeared in every other Marvel/Netflix series. Expect Claire to appear when Danny needs a stab or bullet wound cleaned up. 

The Villains

The big question is who will be the main villain of Iron Fist. The series synopsis hints that a threat will emerge that will force Danny to choose between his family’s company and the power of the Iron Fist. That probably means that the Meachums won’t be the primary antagonist, or at least not a threat that Danny can punch. 

An IMDB listing claims that Iron Fist‘s primary villain will be Zhou Cheng, a powerful foe who has been hunting Iron Fists for 75 years on behalf of his master, a monster called Ch’i-Lin who has ties to the Capital Cities of Heaven. But IMDB can be edited by anyone and introducing Zhou Cheng would require a deep dive into Marvel lore that might turn off casual viewers. 

The other possibility is the Steel Serpent, another classic Iron Fist villain. In the comics, the Steel Serpent is the son of the man who trained Iron Fist and left K’un-Lun after he failed to claim the power of the Iron Fist for himself. As we mentioned previously in this article, the Steel Serpent may be linked to Daredevil‘s Madam Gao, and we’ve already seen the Steel Serpent’s symbol within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Premiere Date

Just this week, Netflix finally announced Iron Fist‘s premiere date with a pretty nifty teaser, which can be viewed above. The show’s first season will premiere on March 17, 2017. Netflix will push the entire first season of Iron Fist at once, so fans can binge watch the entire season over one weekend.

Netflix also released an official first look, showing Danny Rand in action against a crowd of foes.

So are you excited to see the new Iron Fist show? Let us know in the comments below!