Marvel’s Iron Fist is yet another part of Netflix’s programming that will bring another character from the Marvel universe to the small screen (or it could be as large as you would like, depending on your budget at home). In fact, the latest trailer for Netflix’s Iron Fist has made its debut, and it continues to showcase Marvel’s struggle when it comes to the politics of representation. Iron Fist on Netflix will debut this coming March 17, where the latest trailer shows how Finn Jones, playing the role of Danny Rand, with his curls walk into Rand Enterprises’ building without any shoes at all. Needless to say, he was prevented further access to the building, but his sleek martial arts skills managed to subdue whatever security forces that came across his path.
The latest Iron Fist trailer will showcase how Danny Rand is all set to go up against the main protagonist of the show, Harold Meachum, who will be played by David Wenham. At one particular point in the trailer, Meachum’s face was full of blood droplets, perhaps after he was involved in an altercation which would most probably have resulted in the death of another (presumably disposable) character. Both Danny and Harold are tussling for control of Rand Enterprises, and no doubts that it is not going to be an easy fight for either of them. After all, no matter how powerful your martial arts is, you can never overcome the taxman as well as laws and regulations of the land. The pen, indeed, is mightier than the sword.
Apart from that, we were also treated to a glimpse of Jessica Henwick’s character in the upcoming Iron Fist TV series. Henwick is a British actress of Chinese and South African descent, while Wai Ching Ho’s Madame Gao is also a familiar villain if you happen to follow Netflix’s Daredevil series. There was one particular shot that showed how Jones and Henwick did make their way around the streets of Chinatown, which was busy celebrating the Lunar New Year event. It remains to be seen whether the inclusion of Asian cultures is just there in order to somewhat maintain the balance of representation in a TV show, or do they actually play a very important role in the story’s overall development? We will simply have to wait and see whether things will work out in the end.
Is it really important that every culture has to be represented in a movie these days? Perhaps for Iron Fist’s case, it makes sense since Danny Rand did receive his martial arts training from the fictional Asian country of K’un L’un, and hence, there needs to be some sort of connection to Asia in one way or another. More recent movies to seem to have culture mash ups for the sake of marketability -- after all, audiences from a particular culture would definitely like to see how they are represented on the silver screen. Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu Yoga is one such example, blending Hollywood production values with Bollywood dances and songs as well as action-packed kung fu sequences.
