‘Iron Fist’ can officially be chalked up as a failure. Netflix has issued a statement declaring that this is its first Marvel original series to get the ax.
In a statement provided to Deadline, Netflix announced:
“Marvel’s Iron Fist will not return for a third season on Netflix. Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is proud of the series and grateful for all of the hard work from our incredible cast, crew and showrunners. We’re thankful to the fans who have watched these two seasons, and for the partnership we’ve shared on this series. While the series on Netflix has ended, the immortal Iron Fist will live on.”
‘Game of Thrones’ vet Finn Jones starred as the titular hero, a.k.a. millionaire Danny Rand. Jones has drawn criticism for his depiction, virtually from the start. In fact, from its launch, ‘Iron Fist’ has been dogged by negative reactions from both critics and audiences. However, the second season premiered about a month ago, with a new showrunner, Raven Metzner, and by most accounts, was a vast improvement. Netflix doesn’t reveal the number of its streams, but based on past cancellations, either too many people were so unimpressed with the first season that they didn’t bother with the second, or some people started the second, but didn’t finish it.
The announcement mentions that “Iron Fist will live on.” That may just be symbolic, but it could be literal. The series does share a reality with ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ and ‘The Punisher’. It’s entirely possible that Jones could move over to another series, with ‘Luke Cage’ being most likely, as these two characters have been partners in the comic books for decades.
Another possibility is that Netflix could replace ‘Iron Fist’ with ‘Daughters of the Dragon’, featuring Jessica Henwick, who plays Danny’s love interest Colleen Wing and Simone Missick as detective Misty Knight. Marvel TV chief, Jeph Loeb has stated that fans constantly ask for a spin-off starring these two butt-kicking women and that it was a possibility. If that happens, Danny Rand could continue to appear on that series, in a reverse capacity, as Colleen’s love interest.
There is also the possibility that ‘Iron Fist’ could move to another home, possibly Disney’s upcoming streaming service. That service will be strictly all-ages, so if it does move over, it will have to be heavily toned down to eliminate violence, profanity, etc.
The ‘Iron Fist’ cast also included Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, and Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, Danny’s childhood friends/current business partners. David Wenham played Joy and Ward’s father Harold in season one, while both seasons featured Sacha Dhawan as Davos and Wai Ching Ho as Madame Gao. The second season added Alice Eve as Mary Walker, a.k.a. Typhoid Mary.
Iron Fist, along with Luke, Jessica and Daredevil formed ‘The Defenders’ in what was planned as a stand-alone miniseries. Some fans have held out hope that Netflix would revisit the idea, although there are no plans to do so at this time.
The other Marvel shows seem to be doing well. ‘Daredevil”s third season is due to launch on October 19 and ‘Jessica Jones’ has also had a third season ordered. Netflix has not ordered a third helping of ‘Luke Cage’, but it is expected to. A second season of ‘The Punisher’, a spin-off from ‘Daredevil’, is also ready and should arrive in early 2019.
Were you a fan of ‘Iron Fist’? Are you sad to see it go?
