#when he wants to talk about a secret organization #using the symbol of
an undying dragon that lives in an another dimension #and gave him a glowing fist #but you don’t have time for it #because you have to deal with your zombie father #who stalks
you 24/7 and turned your life into a living hell
BuzzFeed: At any point during the casting of Danny Rand, was there a discussion of casting an Asian of half-Asian actor? Especially considering Iron Fist was created in 1974, a time when we didn’t think about cultural appropriation the way we do now?
Jeph Loeb, Head of Marvel TV: To answer that, just really flat out, the way the story is told and when people see the story, the importance of Danny as an outsider is something that is a theme that runs throughout the entire show, so I think once they see it, they’ll understand why the story is told the way it’s told.
Some other (nonspoilery) things I can tell you about Iron Fist from the panel:
COLLEEN WING (played by Jessica Henwick) IS ABOUT TO BE YOUR NEW FAVE. One of two Asian leads in the show (the other is Lewis Tan as Zhou Cheng), the short clip we saw her in included her just absolutely DESTROYING two grown men who were over twice her size and then wiping their blood off on her white track suit.
COLLEEN ALSO TEACHES CLAIRE SOME SELF-DEFENSE. If you noticed at the end of Luke Cage, Claire grabs a number off of a flyer for a self-defense class taught by Colleen. There’s high hopes for strong female friendship in the series.
The Meachums (all three of them) are a very fucked up family and there’s going to be an iconic new addition to Marvel’s Bad Dad Club.
The Iron Fist effects look incredible, even though it is uncomfortable to watch someone as white as Finn Jones use it.
There will be an iconic Marvel Netflix hallway fight scene – this time, it’s pretty well lit. (Though again, very uncomfortable to watch Finn Jones fight a bunch of Asian men who are portraying bad guys with martial arts.)
Madame Gao and The Hand (from Daredevil) will tie back into this season of Iron Fist.
Personally, I’m not sure if the clips we saw at the panel have convinced me that there’s any good reason to cast a white man instead of a mixed race or second generation kid who is struggling with his Asian identity as Danny Rand, but for now I’ll take Jeph Loeb’s word for it and watch. At least I know that the Asian lead who WAS at the panel (Jessica, playing Colleen) will be a bright spot in an otherwise controversial season.
I have similar thoughts. I know this is true to the original story from 30 (?) years ago but there are a lot of things we did in the past that we realize now could be done better.
“Yes, I am proposing that a major comic book institution change the race of one of its popular characters as it transitions to a new form of media. In this case, I want Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American actor to play the lead in the upcoming Iron Fist show it is developing for Netflix.
It seems logical enough to me, though as always, there are fans who are urging Marvel to resist changing his race. Now, I know the topic of cross-racial casting has come up time and time again here at The Nerds of Color. And while there are a contingent of fans who don’t think such things matter — or worse, are vehemently opposed to such casting choices — I can’t help thinking that Iron Fist gives Marvel a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe.
Not to mention that this is a case where changing the race of the character has the potential to actually add layers of depth to the story of said character. First, let’s get a couple of misconceptions out of the way. My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story. It is, in fact, the opposite…”
There’s also a petition for Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American as Iron Fist at 18 Million Rising.
“My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story,” wrote Keith Chow, a contributor to the site. “It is, in fact, the opposite. In my mind, casting a young Asian American in the lead role does nothing to change his classic origin: He can still be the son of a wealthy businessman. He can still accompany his family on an expedition to seek out K’un L’un. He can still train under Lei Kung, the Thunderer. He can still seek revenge against the man who killed his father. Danny being Asian American precludes none of these things. What does change, however, in making Danny non-white is that it removes the white savior syndrome of the original story.”
“…If Danny is Asian American, the scenes of him embracing the ways of K’un-L’un can be viewed through the lens of cultural reconnection.”
RandomFandom 