Iron Fist (TV series)

Iron Fist
Iron Fist written in black writing, the letter O written in the form of a stylized dragon.
Genre	Action-adventure Fantasy Martial arts Superhero
Created by	Scott Buck
Based on	Iron Fist by Roy Thomas Gil Kane
Starring	Finn Jones Jessica Henwick Tom Pelphrey Jessica Stroup Ramón Rodríguez Sacha Dhawan Rosario Dawson David Wenham Simone Missick Alice Eve
Theme music composer	Trevor Morris
Composer(s)	Trevor Morris Robert Lydecker
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Dahl Cindy Holland Allie Goss Alison Engel Kris Henigman Alan Fine Stan Lee Joe Quesada Dan Buckley Jim Chory Jeph Loeb Scott Buck Karim Zreik David Dobkin M. Raven Metzner
Producer(s)	Evan Perazzo Declan de Barra
Production location(s)	New York City
Cinematography	Manuel Billeter Niels Alpert Christopher LaVasseur
Editor(s)	Michael N. Knue Miklos Wright Jonathan Chibnall Andrew Coutts Tim Brinker
Running time	49–61 minutes
Production company(s)	Marvel Television ABC Studios Devilina Productions
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17) – September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Chronology
Related shows	Marvel's Netflix television series
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Marvel's Iron Fist is an American television series created by Scott Buck for the streaming service Netflix, based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Fist. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the franchise's films, and was the fourth Marvel Netflix series leading to the crossover miniseries The Defenders (2017). The series was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios, with Devilina Productions also producing in the first season. Buck served as showrunner for the first season; Raven Metzner took over for the second.

Finn Jones stars as Danny Rand / Iron Fist, a martial arts expert with the ability to call upon a mystical power known as the "Iron Fist". Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup, and Sacha Dhawan also star, with Ramón Rodríguez, Rosario Dawson and David Wenham joining them for the first season, and Simone Missick and Alice Eve joining for season two. After a film based on Iron Fist was in the works at Marvel Studios for over a decade, development for the series began in late 2013 at Marvel Television with inspiration taken from martial arts films. Buck was hired as showrunner in December 2015, Jones was cast as Rand in February 2016, and Brett Chan served as the stunt coordinator for the first season. Metzner was revealed to be showrunning the second season in July 2017, with Clayton Barber taking over as the fight coordinator. Filming took place in New York City.

The first, 13-episode season was released in its entirety on Netflix on March 17, 2017. It received generally negative reviews from critics, but third-party data analytics determined that the series had strong viewership. A second, 10-episode season was released on September 7, 2018, to mixed but improved reviews. Netflix cancelled Iron Fist on October 12, 2018. All of the Marvel Netflix series were removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, after Disney regained the license for them. They began streaming on Disney+ from March 16.

Premise

In the first season, after being presumed dead for 15 years, Danny Rand returns to New York City to reclaim his family company from Harold Meachum and his children Ward and Joy. When a threat emerges, Rand must choose between his family's legacy and his duties as the Iron Fist. In the second season, after the events of The Defenders (2017), Rand steps up to protect New York in Matt Murdock's absence, until a new enemy threatens Rand's identity and those he cares about.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Iron Fist characters

• Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist:
  A billionaire Buddhist monk and martial artist, master of kung-fu, with the ability to call upon the mystical power of the Iron Fist. Jones described the character as "someone struggling to find his identity". He identifies with the character's loneliness because he, too, is an orphan. He noted that "Danny gets really stressed and really pissed off sometimes, and I understand that ... [his] optimism and where that comes from." In preparation for the role, Jones studied kung fu, wushu, and tai chi, along with weight training, Buddhist philosophy, and meditation. Toby Nichols portrays a young Danny Rand.
• Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing:
  An ally of Rand, a martial artist who runs her own dojo, Chikara Dojo, in New York City. Henwick felt the word that defined Wing most was "alone", saying, "She doesn't want to be anyone's love interest and open herself up in that way." In her portrayal, Henwick also tried "to pull out that sort of very dry humor that [Wing] has, and that no-bullshit New-Yorker demeanor" from the comics' version of the character.
• Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum:
  The son of Harold Meachum, a childhood acquaintance of Rand. His work building up Rand Enterprises with his sister Joy is threatened by Rand's return. Although Ward is a character from the comics, Pelphrey noted "we're not necessarily beholden to representing him [in the series] exactly as he appears in the comic book." Stroup said that Ward would experience some "male angst" on Rand's return, because "Ward would have been the one who picked on [Rand] when he was little, so as pure and innocent and great as Iron Fist is, he comes in and he causes some problems" there. Ilan Eskenazi portrays a teenage Ward Meachum.
• Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum:
  The daughter of Harold Meachum, a childhood acquaintance of Rand. Her work building up Rand Enterprises with her brother Ward is threatened by Rand's return. Stroup said that Joy "absolutely loves" Rand, and his return to New York is "like this rebirth of what she once was, and she gets to ask these questions about herself because he's posing them to her." Stroup said that Joy would initially be unsure whether Rand is who he says he is. Aimee Laurence portrays a young Joy Meachum.
• Ramón Rodríguez as Bakuto: A leader of a faction of The Hand and Colleen Wing's sensei.
• Sacha Dhawan as Davos:
  A skilled martial artist who is the son of Lei Kung. Rand's former best friend in K'un-Lun, Davos grew envious when Rand became the Iron Fist. Dhawan first appeared in the ninth episode of the first season; he noted that the majority of Davos' storyline would be explored in a potential second season.
• Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple: A former nurse from Hell's Kitchen who joins Wing's dojo. Dawson reprises her role from other Marvel Netflix series.
• David Wenham as Harold Meachum:
  A ruthless corporate leader, co-founder of Rand Enterprises. He was partners with Rand's parents at the time of their deaths. Regarding Harold's relationship with his children, Joy and Ward, Wenham said the dynamic between the three of them "is complex, to say the least. It's multilayered, it's multidimensional, it's surprising, and it's forever changing, depending on the circumstances."
• Simone Missick as Misty Knight: A Harlem NYPD Detective with a strong sense of justice, an ally of Rand and Wing. Missick reprises her role from other Marvel Netflix series.
• Alice Eve as Mary Walker: A mysterious woman with hidden abilities.

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally released
	1	13	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
	2	10	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)

Season 1 (2017)

Main article: Iron Fist season 1

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Snow Gives Way"	John Dahl	Scott Buck	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
After being presumed dead for 15 years, when his family were the victims of a plane crash in the Himalayas, Danny Rand returns to New York City and goes to Rand Enterprises to meet with Harold Meachum, the partner of Rand's now dead father Wendell Rand. Rand is turned away by security, but uses martial arts to fight his way to Harold's children Ward and Joy. The Meachums reveal that Harold has been dead for years, and do not believe that Rand is who he says he is. Rand is also turned down by Colleen Wing, who he wishes to work for at her newly opened dojo. The Meachums believe that "Danny"'s appearance is a ploy by their rivals to create a leadership struggle ahead of their planned expansion to China, and Ward hires mercenaries to kill Rand. Wing witnesses him overpower them. Ward meets with Harold, who had faked his death and considers the possibility that Rand survived the plane crash. Rand attempts to tell Joy about Ward's actions, but she drugs him and has him institutionalized.
2	2	"Shadow Hawk Takes Flight"	John Dahl	Scott Buck	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Rand is assigned to psychiatrist Paul Edmonds, to whom Rand reiterates his true identity. Harold watches Rand through the hospital's surveillance system, and sends Ward to offer Wing money in exchange for her testimony against Rand; she refuses after talking to Rand in the hospital. Harold secretly visits Rand and learns that Rand has become the Iron Fist and sworn enemy of the Hand. Rand is able to convince Joy of his identity, but Ward is not convinced. Rand explains to Edmonds that following the plane crash, he was saved by two monks and taken to K'un-Lun, another dimension that is connected to the Earth periodically. It was there that he trained in martial arts and gained the power of the Iron Fist. Edmonds is not convinced, and diagnoses Rand as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Harold asks Ward to move Rand to a safe place where he can be useful, but Ward instead orders his men, disguised as patients at the hospital, to kill Rand. The latter uses the power of the Iron Fist to overpower them and escape.
3	3	"Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch"	Tom Shankland	Quinton Peeples	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
In his martial arts training at K'un-Lun, the young Rand survived brutal treatment at the hands of the monks. Now, the mysterious Madame Gao punishes Harold for leaving his secret penthouse to visit Rand. Wing is attacked by Ward's security personnel, whom she overpowers before giving shelter to Rand. He also visits Joy again and she offers him money to change his identity and leave. Rand refuses, and meets with his family's lawyer Jeri Hogarth who promises to reclaim his identity in exchange for a permanent contract between her firm and Rand Enterprises. After attacking an impolite student at Wing's dojo, Rand is forced to stay elsewhere and is gifted the use of an apartment by Hogarth. The lawyer uses fingerprint evidence to prove Rand's identity to Joy and Ward, and promises to present it in court if they stop Rand from retaking his family's company. Deducing that Harold is alive, Rand follows Ward and climbs up the side of the penthouse but is pushed off it. Harold forces Ward to buy a specific pier, which he does with help from Joy.
4	4	"Eight Diagram Dragon Palm"	Miguel Sapochnik	Scott Reynolds	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
After falling unconscious, Rand wakes up in the penthouse. Harold explains that the cancer which he "died" from was secretly cured by the Hand, who demanded his loyalty in return and allowed him to reveal the truth only to Ward. Harold asks Rand to destroy the Hand in order to free him, and orders Ward to accept Rand's return to the company where his return is announced in a press conference. In a board meeting, Rand uses his position as the majority shareholder to enforce his decision to cheaply sell a newly developed drug in order to save more lives. At his apartment, Joy is attacked and wounded by Triad operatives, whom Rand overpowers. He takes her to Wing's dojo before confronting the Triad leader, Hai-Qing Yang, who holds a grudge against Joy for taking the pier. However, he stands down when Rand reveals the involvement of the Hand. As a reward for securing the pier, the Hand allows Harold to remotely observe Joy. He sees that she has been wounded, and kills the Triad member responsible.
5	5	"Under Leaf Pluck Lotus"	Uta Briesewitz	Cristine Chambers	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
A new synthetic heroin appears in New York, which Rand connects to the Hand. After a chemical factory owned by Rand Enterprises is linked to cancer, Rand personally apologizes to an aggrieved citizen and is recorded by a lawyer who distributes it to the media. In a board meeting that Rand is absent from, Ward convinces the shareholders to stand against the accusations instead of accepting responsibility. However, the anxiety of always being watched by Harold causes Ward to try the new heroin. Rand convinces Wing to help him infiltrate the pier, where they find containers apparently loaded with normal supplies. Inside one he discovers Radovan Bernivig, the chemist who was forced to create the heroin as the Hand held his daughter hostage. Rand fights off a guard to free Bernivig, but the latter is stabbed by the guard. At Wing's dojo, student Claire Temple is able to provide aid as a former nurse with experience working alongside powered heroes. Wing vows to help Rand defeat the Hand, while Gao kills the guard for failing.
6	6	"Immortal Emerges from Cave"	RZA	Dwain Worrell	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Joy convinces Ward to throw away the drugs he is using. Rand and Ward start searching Rand warehouses for clues as to the Hand's operation, and find the severed head of Bernivig's guard as a message challenging Rand to a combat. Rand sends Ward to deal with a crisis management meeting about the video of his apology while Rand accepts the challenge: Rand will fight to free Bernivig's daughter Sabina, and leave his company to the Hand's machinations if he loses. Rand faces Andrei and Grigori Veznikov, the Bride of Nine Spiders, and Scythe, besting them all in turn with the spiritual help of his K'un-Lun mentor Lei Kung; however, Rand refuses to kill Scythe as Lei Kung orders. Gao frees Sabina, reveals that she has been to K'un-Lun and knew Wendell, and easily overpowers Rand telekinetically. Bernivig's condition becomes critical, forcing Temple and Wing to take him to a hospital where he is abducted by the Hand. Ward goes into withdrawal at the meeting, and is only stopped from causing further trouble by Joy.
7	7	"Felling Tree with Roots"	Farren Blackburn	Ian Stokes	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Two Hand operatives interrogate Harold, who fights them off with Rand's help. Harold kills them, and has Ward dump the bodies in a river. Rand begins to develop a romantic relationship with Wing, and starts investigating his father. Gao arrives at Rand Enterprises, advising Rand to stay out of her way. Rand sees her discussing business with a Rand employee, and later convinces the latter to leave the city and give him her password. Rand and Wing persuade Yang to help them fight the Hand, while Joy convinces Ward to take a break from the company. In a board meeting, Rand announces his decision to close the Staten Island plant while keeping the workers on payroll; the board decides to oust Rand, Ward, and Joy. Rand, Wing, and Yang's operatives attack a Hand facility and find a dying Bernivig. He reveals that Gao has gone to Anzhou, China, which is where the Rands were going when their plane crashed. Harold discovers Ward's plan to leave and takes his money; Ward confronts his father, and kills him, dumping his body in the river.
8	8	"The Blessing of Many Fractures"	Kevin Tancharoen	Tamara Becher-Wilkinson	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Rand deduces that his father was going to Anzhou to shut down Gao's operations, but their plane was targeted by her on the way with the Hand poisoning the pilots. Rand, Wing, and Temple travel to Anzhou themselves, where they acquire information from a nearby beggar. They infiltrate the Hand facility there as Gao arrives. Rand engages with the drunken Zhou Cheng, who has been training to fight the student of Lei Kung. Rand almost beats Cheng to death, until the intervention of Temple and Wing. Gao and her men engage the trio, and Rand is able to use the power of the Iron Fist to best them and capture Gao. The board offers Ward and Joy a severance deal to help convince them to leave, and the desperate Ward attempts to accept it. Joy refuses for the pair of them and hires a private investigator to find evidence that she can use to blackmail the board members and allow them to stay on. Learning of this, Ward decides to tell Joy about Harold and takes her to the penthouse, but changes his mind due to the guilt of killing their father.
9	9	"The Mistress of All Agonies"	Jet Wilkinson	Pat Charles	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Rand takes Gao to Wing's dojo, where Temple suggests they use truth serum to force her to talk. Rand steals some from Rand Enterprises, and Gao begins to talk about Rand's parents before revealing that she is lying and can resist the influence of the serum. Wing reveals to the others that she was poisoned in Anzhou, and contacts her mentor Bakuto. Gao's operatives attack the dojo, but are defeated, and Bakuto soon arrives. He teaches Rand how to use the power of the Iron Fist to heal Wing, before taking Wing, Rand, and Gao away. Meanwhile, Harold reawakens from death and over several hours regains relatively normal mental functions. He finds Ward at the penthouse and feigns absolution. Ward learns from Yang that those revived by the Hand become more psychotic after each revival and attack those closest to them first. Harold kills his assistant Kyle and places heroin in Ward's car to frame him. Ward is given to the care of Edmonds at the psychiatric hospital, while Joy reunites with Harold at the penthouse.
10	10	"Black Tiger Steals Heart"	Peter Hoar	Quinton Peeples	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Rand wakes up at an academy run by Bakuto, who teaches him how to recharge his "chi". Rand grows suspicious and infiltrates a restricted area where he learns from an imprisoned Gao that Bakuto is a Hand leader himself. Rand confronts Wing, who insists that their faction of the Hand is "good" and in opposition to Gao's "bad" faction. Bakuto visits Harold and offers a partnership. Rand learns that Bakuto's Hand is conducting mass surveillance, and attempts to escape from the academy. He is aided in this by his childhood friend Davos. Bakuto stabs Rand with an unknown object before he and Davos fight their way to the academy gates. Rand is now unable to summon the power of the Iron Fist to open the gate, but Wing is able to open it and offers a distraction to allow the duo to escape. Davos tells Rand that they must return to K'un-Lun. Acting on Joy's blackmail material, Harold kills a member of the board but stages it as suicide and denies his involvement to Joy. She convinces the board to reinstate the Meachums and Rand.
11	11	"Lead Horse Back to Stable"	Deborah Chow	Ian Stokes	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Rand refuses to return to K'un-Lun until the Hand is destroyed, and Davos questions his motives. He and Davos visit Temple, where she is able to remove the shrapnel of Bakuto's weapon from Rand's wound but does not have the antibiotics required to control the infection. Wing arrives and tries to reason with Rand. She tries to prove her feelings for him by using her connection to a Hand member at a hospital to get antibiotics for his wound. Rand goes to the penthouse, where Joy has discovered that Bakuto has been transferring Rand Enterprises's money to his own accounts. Harold decides to kill Bakuto and formulates a plan to flush him and his operatives out of the compound by having Joy freeze their accounts. Rand agrees to help Harold kill Bakuto, but Joy is against this. The Hand captures Wing and takes her to the compound, where Rand and Davos wait for Bakuto to emerge. Wing frees herself, escapes, and Rand rushes to her rather than waiting for Bakuto, revealing his feelings for her to Davos.
12	12	"Bar the Big Boss"	Andy Goddard	Scott Reynolds	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Ward escapes the hospital and goes to the penthouse where he tries to get Joy away from Harold. Bakuto and his operatives arrive, with the former shooting Joy and giving Rand half an hour to arrive at the penthouse to save the Meachums. Against Davos's objections, Rand decides to go and arrives before Bakuto can decapitate Harold (which would kill him for good). Rand uses the power of the Iron Fist to fight off the Hand operatives as Davos and Wing arrive to help. Wing confronts Bakuto, overpowering him but refusing to kill him. Rand also refuses, but Davos does it. An enraged Rand attacks Davos and defeats him, but spares him. Davos reveals his jealousy that Rand was chosen to be the Iron Fist, and his rage that Rand abandoned the sacred duty of the Iron Fist to protect K'un-Lun. Davos leaves. Rand and Wing find Bakuto's body missing. Harold and Ward take Joy to a hospital. The next day, Ward warns Rand that he has been set up by Harold, just as DEA agents arrive at the dojo. Rand and Wing fight them off and escape.
13	13	"Dragon Plays with Fire"	Stephen Surjik	Scott Buck & Tamara Becher-Wilkinson & Pat Charles	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Harold takes control of Rand Enterprises. Rand and Wing go to the academy, now abandoned by the Hand, where Gao reveals that Harold masterminded the plane crash that killed Rand's parents. Ward tells Joy about Harold's actions, and she confronts him about it. Harold denies framing Rand, and Joy decides to leave. Ward allies with Rand, Wing, and Temple to help defeat Harold. He goes to Rand Enterprises, where he is wounded by Harold, but is able to find evidence of Rand's innocence. Temple creates a distraction so that Rand and Wing can infiltrate the building, and the pair is able to fight off Harold's operatives. Rand follows Harold to the rooftop, where they fight. Ward arrives and shoots Harold, who falls from the building to his death. Ward has the body cremated to ensure he does not return. Joy meets with Davos, who tells her that Rand must be killed. This is overheard by Gao. Rand convinces Wing to accompany him to K'un-Lun, but they arrive at the gate to find it shut off from the Earth, and surrounded by dead Hand operatives.

Season 2 (2018)

Main article: Iron Fist season 2

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
14	1	"The Fury of Iron Fist"	David Dobkin	M. Raven Metzner	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Billionaire Danny Rand moves in with his girlfriend Colleen Wing, living in her Chinatown, New York City dojo. At night he fights criminals on the streets using the magical power of the Iron Fist, and sees an increase in crime between gangs such as the Golden Tigers and the Hatchets following the destruction of the Hand. Wing finds a box bearing the kamon of her family, who pushed her away years earlier. She begins investigating where the box may have come from, and comes to believe that furniture shop owner Frank Choi may know of its origin. He goes missing when he is unable to pay the Golden Tigers for protection. Rand and Ward Meachum—who runs Rand's company—meet with Ward's sister Joy, who asks for them to buy her out of the company; Rand agrees. Joy is working with Davos, who was raised with Rand in the mystical city of K'un-Lun. Davos confronts Rand, hinting that he has discovered a way to take the Iron Fist from Rand. Davos believes it is his birthright, but Rand refuses to give it up.
15	2	"The City's Not for Burning"	Rachel Talalay	Jon Worley	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Years earlier, Rand earned the right to gain the Iron Fist after being named the winner of a duel against Davos in K'un-Lun by Davos's father Lei Kung, though Davos had not conceded defeat to Rand. Now, fighting between the Golden Tigers and the Hatchets escalates and Rand is unable to convince Hai-Qing Yang, the leader of the Hatchets, to look for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. On the streets, Rand meets a strange newcomer to the city, Mary, and helps her by giving her directions and trying to protect her from the gang violence. She develops feelings for Rand in response to his kindness. Joy and Davos use blackmail to acquire an antique bowl from Mika Prada, an old acquaintance of Joy's. Wing convinces Yang's wife Sherry to talk her husband into peace. Davos later meets with Yang regarding shipments that he has coming into the Hatchet's docks; when he learns that the group can no longer secure his items, given that they now plan to share the docks with the Golden Tigers, Davos gives Yang a stroke.
16	3	"This Deadly Secret..."	Toa Fraser	Tatiana Suarez-Pico	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Learning of Joy and Davos's partnership, Ward asks Rand to invite the pair over for dinner so they can all discuss their differences. Despite Davos's protests, Joy agrees to avoid suspicion. Mary leaves a set of surveillance photos showing Rand and Wing at the dojo, and when Rand confronts her about them, Mary says that they are being watched by someone named Walker. Ward believes that someone at his Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings is working for Joy, and becomes paranoid. He ultimately does not come to the dinner. Joy and Davos feign niceties until Wing demands that they discuss their grievances with Rand. Davos finds the surveillance photos, which he and Joy had arranged to be taken, and the pair leave. Rand and Wing come to an attempted parlay between the Hatchets, now represented by Mrs. Yang, and the Golden Tigers. Negotiations turn sour, and Rand, Wing and Mrs. Yang defend themselves against the Golden Tigers. Davos and Joy confront Mary—actually Walker—about the photos.
17	4	"Target: Iron Fist"	M. J. Bassett	Jenny Lynn	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Joy learns that Walker has dissociative identity disorder, with Mary being an alternate personality; Walker insists that she can control Mary. Rand attempts to reignite peace talks between the triads, but the Golden Tigers have already seized the docks and the Hatchets are preparing to fight back. Rand visits Yang and realizes that Davos had caused the stroke. Yang is able to tell Rand what Davos was having brought in at the docks. Rand and Wing are met by Detective Misty Knight, a friend who Rand gave a robotic arm to after she lost hers fighting the Hand. Knight explains that the trap Rand had seen was actually police officers watching the parlay, and asks Rand to stay away from now on. He instead goes to the docks on his own, but Davos has already killed the Golden Tiger soldiers there and taken what he wanted: the tattooed skin from the corpse of an old Iron Fist. Rand is attacked, drugged, and taken by Walker to the site of a ritual in which the bowl, skin, and Rand's blood are used to transfer the power of the Iron Fist to Davos.
18	5	"Heart of the Dragon"	Mairzee Almas	Declan de Barra	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Bleeding out, Rand is found by a group of local kids who have started their own triad. They plan to give Rand to the Golden Tigers in exchange for a bounty. Wing and Knight attempt to find Rand by tracking down Walker, and get Ward's help to quickly run a fingerprint search on the surveillance photos. Davos looks to become the Iron Fist that Rand never was, starting with ending the triad war himself. He goes to a nightclub owned by the Golden Tigers and kills their leadership. Joy begins to fear what Davos may do to her, and hires Walker for protection. One of the kids holding Rand, BB—who Wing had run into several times before—is convinced by Rand to call Wing. She and Knight find Rand, and Ward gets his NA sponsor Bethany to tend to Rand's injuries. While Ward stays with Rand, Wing and Knight go to ensure that Joy is safe and find her with Walker. Wing and Knight overpower Walker, and take the two back to the dojo where Joy confirms that she knew what Davos planned all along and had wanted to hurt Rand.
19	6	"The Dragon Dies at Dawn"	Philip John	Matthew White	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Joy reveals that the ritual was carried out by three tattoo artists called the Crane Sisters. Hoping that they can reverse the process, Wing and Knight go to find them leaving Ward to watch over Rand, Joy, and Walker. Walker agrees to take Rand back to where the ritual took place to confront Davos, leaving Ward and Joy to discuss their relationship. Joy refuses to forgive Ward and leaves him. After explaining that they are accessories to a crime, Knight gets the Crane Sisters to agree to reversing the ritual. Walker reveals to Rand that she actually plans to kill Davos before running away to live in a secluded cabin in peace. This would allow her to avoid any of the triggers that bring Mary to the surface. Rand convinces her to take Davos hostage instead, and when he returns from his killing spree across the city Davos is subdued. He manages to break Rand's leg before falling unconscious. Walker calls an ambulance for Rand, but Davos is left behind when Mary is triggered and runs away after hearing that Walker plans to keep her trapped.
20	7	"Morning of the Mindstorm"	Stephen Surjik	Rebecca Dameron	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
With the help of a state-of-the-art leg brace, Rand begins to recover from his injury but is unable to fight. Knight hopes to gain the help of the local police precinct to stop Davos, but Captain William Pike is unwilling to do so since Davos is putting an end to organized crime in the neighborhood. In addition to continuing his killing spree, Davos recruits the gang of local kids and plans to train them as soldiers to help fight his war against crime in New York City. Rand also wants to begin training again, hoping that Wing will re-open her dojo for teaching. She does not want to take the responsibility for a student who could fight and die, but eventually relents and begins training Rand to fight with his injury. Knight learns the requirements of the ritual from Prada, and goes in search of more help. Ward turns to alcohol to drown his sorrows, despite the protests of Bethany. Ward later hears her reveal in an NA meeting that she is pregnant with his child. Joy visits Mary, who realizes that she is protected by Walker. Mary leaves an encouraging message for Walker.
21	8	"Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance"	Julian Holmes	Melissa Glenn	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Walker watches Mary's message, and is confused when Mary thanks her for breaking them out of a Sokovian prison where they were a prisoner-of-war for years while serving in the military. Walker always believed that it was Mary who broke them out, and psychiatrist Paul Edmonds suggests that they may have another alternate personality; Walker dismisses this idea. Joy attempts to undermine Davos by searching for the bowl, and asks Ward to take over a business venture that she is carrying out in the memory of their mother. He worries that she is in danger, and Walker agrees to help him kill Davos. BB helps Joy steal the bowl, while Davos unsuccessfully tries to convince the wider community of the nobility of his crusade. The remnants of the triads band together to stop him, and all Rand can do is try and stop him first. Wing tries to teach Rand to overcome his emotional bond to Davos, allowing him to realize the negative impact on his life that the Iron Fist has had. Rand suggests that Wing should take the power from Davos.
22	9	"War Without End"	Sanford Bookstaver	Daniel Shattuck	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Wing refuses to take the power of the Iron Fist. Knight returns with a police taskforce ready to capture Davos, as well as Frank Choi who had cut a deal to turn on the Golden Tigers. From Choi's information, Wing deduces that her mother came to New York and could still be in the city. Davos discovers the missing bowl, and critically injures Joy by pushing her off a balcony. BB contacts the rest of his gang, hoping that they will see reason, but they tell Davos that he has gone to a community center where Wing volunteers. Rand and Wing go to the center to stop the combined triads from mobilizing to attack, but Davos and his gang arrive. BB faces his gang, and is killed. Wing fights the rest off until Knight and the police can arrive. Rand overpowers Davos and meets the Crane Sisters at the dojo to undertake the ritual again. Mourning BB, Wing agrees to take the Iron Fist, but the ritual is interrupted leaving both Davos and Wing with the power. Knight, Ward, and Walker find Joy, and Ward takes her to safety. Walker then attacks Knight.
23	10	"A Duel of Iron"	Jonas Pate	M. Raven Metzner	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
In pain from the interrupted ceremony, Davos flees back to his hideout and is pursued by Wing, also in pain, and Rand. Walker waits for Davos to return and attempts to kill him, but Rand warns that killing Davos will kill Wing as well until the ritual is complete. Knight wakes up, escapes capture, and helps Rand stop Walker by triggering Mary. Wing fights Davos, and is able to draw the rest of the Iron Fist power out of him. With Davos arrested, Rand is unsure of his purpose in life. Wing prepares to protect the streets of Chinatown as the new Iron Fist, while Joy attempts to return to her normal life. Walker, considering the possibility of having another, more violent identity, decides to stay affiliated with Joy and her influence. Ward attempts to reconcile with Bethany, but she chooses to raise their child on her own. Rand decides to leave New York to find Orson Randall, the man from whom Davos acquired the Iron Fist corpse. Ward travels with him, and months later Rand has stolen two guns from Randall with which he can form Iron Fists.

Production

See also: Production of season 1 and season 2

Development

An Iron Fist film had been in development at Marvel Studios since 2000, originally to be cofinanced by Artisan Entertainment. Ray Park was hired to star, but the project went through multiple directors and ultimately did not come to fruition. Development continued after Marvel Studios began to self-finance their films in the middle of the decade, with Marvel hiring a group of writers to develop some of their "lesser-known properties", including Iron Fist. In 2010, Rich Wilkes was hired to write a new draft for the film, and by May 2013, Iron Fist was said to be one of the "projects on the horizon" for Marvel.

In October 2013, Deadline Hollywood reported that Marvel Television was preparing four drama series and a miniseries, totaling 60 episodes, to present to video on demand services and cable providers, with Netflix, Amazon, and WGN America expressing interest. A few weeks later, Marvel and Disney announced that Marvel Television and ABC Studios would provide Netflix with live action series centered around Iron Fist, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders. In April 2015, the official title was revealed to be Marvel's Iron Fist. That November, Marvel Television head and executive producer Jeph Loeb addressed unconfirmed rumors that Marvel was having a difficult time balancing Iron Fist's mystical elements in its grounded world, and that the series could be replaced with a film or a Punisher series. He explained that Marvel and Netflix deliberately held off on Iron Fist news until Marvel's Jessica Jones premiered so that series, revolving around a character largely unknown to the general audience, got the spotlight. Loeb promised that news on a showrunner would be coming, and Marvel announced that Scott Buck would serve in the role a month later. The series was originally intended to be the third of the announced series from Netflix, debuting after Jessica Jones, but was switched with Marvel's Luke Cage after Luke Cage became a breakout star of Jessica Jones and Marvel wanted to "follow the momentum". John Dahl, Cindy Holland, Allie Goss, Alison Engel, Kris Henigman, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, Dan Buckley, Jim Chory, Loeb and Buck serve as executive producers on the series. A second season was announced in July 2017, with Raven Metzner announced as the new showrunner for the season, replacing Buck. Loeb felt Metzner's "love of all things Iron Fist and his extensive knowledge of martial arts films made him the perfect choice" for new showrunner.

Writing

Buck stated the series would have a lighter tone to it than the previous Marvel Netflix series, given that "Danny Rand himself is a much lighter character. He's someone that has optimism and hope, and despite whatever the odds are, everything is always going to work out." On first discovering Rand's powers, Buck described them as "not the greatest superpowers. All he can do is punch really hard ... you can use it in some ways but in rest of his life, it's not really all that significant. His greatest gift is his martial arts skills, and that's something he suffered and worked for." The writers and producers approached "scientists to discuss how someone could potentially have that type of super strength in the real world." Loeb described the series as "Marvel's foray into martial arts films", and Buck stated that the comics were just "a starting-off point" for the series, which would be "very grounded [and] character driven". Jones felt the series was "actually a feminist television show" calling the female characters "incredibly strong, incredibly unique, and they really hold the men up in that world... All the men in our show are falling apart. They need these women to hold them up".

Each episode of the first season is named after Shaolin Kung Fu sequences, while each episode title in the second season is named after the issue title of various comics Danny Rand has appeared in.

Casting

Casting for Iron Fist began by November 2015, with Finn Jones being cast as Danny Rand / Iron Fist in February 2016, but not officially confirmed by Marvel until March. On casting Jones, Buck said, "we saw him and I think we all just knew immediately this is our guy... He just seemed to be able to display [the character's youthful optimism and badass attitude] when needed and sometimes all at once, so he was very capable and flexible as he brought the character to life." By April, Jessica Henwick, David Wenham, Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey were cast as Colleen Wing, Harold Meachum, Joy Meachum, and Ward Meachum, respectively, and by June, Sacha Dhawan had been cast as Davos, though he was not revealed to be in the role until March 2017. In October 2016, it was revealed that Rosario Dawson would reprise her role of Claire Temple from previous Marvel/Netflix series. Ramón Rodríguez also stars as Bakuto.

Jones, Henwick, Pelphrey, Stroup, and Dhawan reprise their roles in the second season. They are joined by Simone Missick as Misty Knight, reprising her role from previous Marvel Netflix series, and Alice Eve as Mary Walker.

Design

Stephanie Maslansky is the costume designer for Iron Fist, after serving the same role for the previous Marvel Netflix series. Maslansky noted one of the differences in the series compared to the other Marvel Netflix series was the neighborhoods it spent time in ("the wealthier neighborhoods; Midtown, Upper East Side, that sort of thing") compared to Hell's Kitchen for Daredevil and Jessica Jones and Harlem for Luke Cage. As such, Rand wears more suits than the other heroes, and given the amount of fighting he does in the series, a lot of spandex was added to increase the suits' flexibility. The monk costumes and Rand's warrior costume was based on "real Shaolin warrior monk costumes... I took that distinctive silhouette from the Shaolin warrior monk clothing, and we combined it with the traditional colors of the Iron Fist, green and gold." The series opening title sequence was created by Elastic.

Filming

Filming for the series takes place in New York City, in addition to sound stage work. Manuel Billeter served as director of photography for the first season, after doing the same for seasons of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and Brett Chan was the series' stunt-coordinator and second unit director in the first season. The first season was filmed in high dynamic range (HDR), which Billeter stated added "a learning curve" to his work, forcing him to rethink how he would shoot certain scenes. For the second season, Niels Alpert served as director of photography, while Clayton Barber took over as the fight coordinator.

Music

In late October 2016, Trevor Morris was revealed to be composing the music for the first season. A soundtrack album featuring Morris's score for the first season was released by Marvel digitally on March 17, 2017, coinciding with the release of the season. Robert Lydecker composed the score for the second season.

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins

Iron Fist is the fourth of the ordered Netflix series, after Marvel's Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, which lead to the miniseries The Defenders. In November 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that if the characters prove popular on Netflix, "It's quite possible that they could become feature films," which Sarandos echoed in July 2015. In August 2014, Vincent D'Onofrio, Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, stated that after the "series stuff with Netflix", Marvel has "a bigger plan to branch out". In March 2015, Loeb spoke on the ability for the series to crossover with the MCU films and the ABC television series, saying, "It all exists in the same universe. As it is now, in the same way that our films started out as self-contained and then by the time we got to The Avengers, it became more practical for Captain America to do a little crossover into Thor 2 and for Bruce Banner to appear at the end of Iron Man 3. We have to earn that. The audience needs to understand who all of these characters are and what the world is before you then start co-mingling in terms of where it's going."

Marketing

Disney Consumer Products created a small line of products to cater to a more adult audience given the show's edgier tone. Paul Gitter, senior VP of Marvel Licensing for Disney Consumer Products, explained the marketing focus would be more on older teens and adults than youth, with products at outlets like Hot Topic. Additionally, a Marvel Knights merchandise program was created to support the series, which creates new opportunities for individual product lines and collector-focused products. Licensing partners wanted to pair up with Marvel, despite this not being a film, given its previous successes.

Release

Streaming

Iron Fist was released on the streaming service Netflix, in all territories where it is available, in Ultra HD 4K and HDR. The episodes for each season were released simultaneously, as opposed to a serialized format, to encourage binge-watching, a format that has been successful for other Netflix original series. Despite being branded as a "Netflix Original", Iron Fist was licensed to Netflix from Disney.

Iron Fist was removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, along with the other Marvel Netflix series, due to Netflix's license for the series ending and Disney regaining the rights. Disney opted not to have Netflix pay a large licensing fee to retain the distribution rights for the series, and instead announced that all the series would be made available on Disney+ on March 16 in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and in Disney+'s other markets by the end of 2022. In the United States, revised parental controls were introduced to the service to allow the more mature content of the series to be added, similarly to the controls that already exist for other regions that have the Star content hub.

Home media

Season	DVD release dates			Blu-ray release dates
	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Region A	Region B
1	N/A	June 4, 2018	May 30, 2018	N/A	January 1, 2018	May 30, 2018
2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Reception

Audience viewership

As Netflix does not reveal subscriber viewership numbers for any of their original series, Karim Zreik, senior vice president of original programming at Marvel Television, provided some viewership demographics for Iron Fist in August 2017, noting that the series has attracted mainly younger viewers. Also in the month, Netflix released viewing patterns for the Marvel Netflix series. The data, which came from Netflix's "1,300 'taste communities' around the world, where subscribers are grouped based on what they watch", showed that viewers would not watch the series in chronological order by release, rather starting with Jessica Jones, then Daredevil, Luke Cage and finally Iron Fist. Todd Yellin, Netflix's vice president of product innovation, noted that audiences watch the series "in order of how they're interested in them and how they learn about them." Netflix's data also showed that a viewer watching Luke Cage would most often then move on to Iron Fist, while other series with "coming-of-tales" such as 13 Reasons Why, Love and The 100 led viewers to starting Iron Fist. In October 2018, Crimson Hexagon, a consumer insights company, released data that examined the "social-media buzz" for the series to try to correlate it with potential viewership. The data showed that when the first season premiered in March 2017, the season had over 120,000 Twitter and Instagram posts regarding it, and when the second season was released in September 2018, the posts had declined dramatically to under 20,000.

Critical response

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported the first season has a 20% approval rating, based on 85 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite some promising moments, Iron Fist is weighed down by an absence of momentum and originality." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 37 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

For the second season Rotten Tomatoes reported a 55% approval rating, based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Better action scenes and tighter pacing elevate Iron Fist's second season, but it remains a lesser light among MCU shows." On September 7, 2018, Rotten Tomatoes announced that Iron Fist had the largest increase in approval ratings between the first and second season, increasing 33% at the time. Metacritic assigned a score of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from six critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Accolades

Iron Fist was nominated in the category of Best New Media Superhero Series at the 44th Saturn Awards. The series received a nomination for Best Original Score TV Spot/Trailer/Teaser for a Series at the 2019 Golden Trailer Awards.

Cancellation and future

On October 12, 2018, Netflix canceled the series, despite Marvel wanting to have the series continue on the platform. Marvel said the characters from the series would "live on" despite the cancellation, and continue to appear in the MCU. Deadline Hollywood also reported that Disney was considering reviving the series on its streaming service, Disney+. However, Variety reported that, per the original deal between Marvel and Netflix for the series, the characters cannot appear in any non-Netflix series or films for at least two years following the cancellation of Iron Fist. Kevin A. Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, noted that, while it had not yet been discussed, it was a possibility that Disney+ could revive the series. In February 2019, Hulu's senior vice president of originals Craig Erwich said that the streaming service was open to reviving the series, along with the other former Netflix series.

Jones and Metzner had both believed a third season would be ordered and had planned the storyline for it, with Jones feeling the season had a lot of promise. Jones said it would have featured Rand and Meachum traveling the world in a buddy story, with Rand "fully charged up (and) fully in control", and finally assuming the role of Iron Fist. Wing, remaining in New York, would have been struggling to come to terms with her identity and newfound power before reuniting with Rand and becoming a couple. In December 2021, Henwick revealed that she was offered the role of Xialing in the Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), but turned it down because she wanted to reprise the role of Wing in a future MCU production.

Ahead of Charlie Cox's appearance as Daredevil in Echo, which released in January 2024, Marvel Studios' head of streaming Brad Winderbaum acknowledged that Marvel Studios had previously been "a little bit cagey" about what was part of their Sacred Timeline, noting how there had been the corporate divide between what Marvel Studios created and what Marvel Television created. He continued that as time has passed, Marvel Studios has begun to see "how well integrated the [Marvel Television] stories are" and personally felt "confident" in saying Daredevil specifically was part of the Sacred Timeline. With Echo's release, all of the Netflix series were retroactively added to the MCU Disney+ timeline, with Iron Fist placed alongside the Phase Two content of the MCU, after Ant-Man (2015). An update to the Disney+ timeline split out the series by season, with Iron Fists's second season placed between Doctor Strange (2016) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

External links

• Iron Fist on Disney+
• Iron Fist at IMDb