The second and final season of the American
streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...
series ''
Iron Fist'', which is based on the
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character
of the same name, follows
Danny Rand / Iron Fist
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
People
* Danny Altmann, British immunologist
*Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
*Danny Baker (born 1957), English journali ...
, a martial arts expert with the ability to call upon the power of the Iron Fist. It is set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU), sharing continuity with
the films and other
television series of the franchise. The season was produced by
Marvel Television
Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
in association with
ABC Studios
ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
, with
Raven Metzner
M. Raven Metzner is an American screenwriter and producer.
Career
Raven started his career with the movie '' Elektra'' before moving on to television projects such as ''Clue'', '' Falling Skies'' and '' Sleepy Hollow''. Metzner later replaced ...
serving as
showrunner.
Finn Jones
Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Netflix television shows '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018) ...
stars as Rand, who protects New York following the events of ''
The Defenders''.
Jessica Henwick
Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...
,
Tom Pelphrey
Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series ''Guiding Light'' and ''As the World Turns'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Ci ...
,
Jessica Stroup
Jessica Leigh Stroup (born October 23, 1986) is an American actress, best known for her role as Erin Silver on '' 90210'' (2008–2013), Max Hardy on ''The Following'' (2014–2015) and Joy Meachum on '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), which is set i ...
, and
Sacha Dhawan
Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...
also return from the
first season to star and are joined by
Simone Missick
Simone Missick (née Cook; born January 19, 1982) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Detective Misty Knight in ''Luke Cage'', a role she also plays in '' The Defenders' ...
, reprising her role from previous Marvel Netflix series, and
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
. The season was ordered in July 2017, with Metzner replacing
Scott Buck
Scott Randall Buck is an American television writer. Buck has written for several television series including '' Six Feet Under'', ''Rome'', Showtime's ''Dexter'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Coach'', ''Inhumans'', '' The Oblongs'' and '' Iro ...
as showrunner. Filming for the season began in late 2017 in New York City and continued until May 2018. Focus was placed on improving the fight sequences for the series after
criticisms of the first season, with Clayton Barber taking over as fight coordinator after doing so for the MCU film ''
Black Panther''. Each episode in the season is named after a comics issue that Rand has appeared in.
The season was released on September 7, 2018, and consists of ten episodes. The season received mixed reviews from critics but was considered a major improvement over the previous season. Netflix canceled the series on October 12, 2018.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main
*
Finn Jones
Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Netflix television shows '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018) ...
as
Danny Rand / Iron Fist
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
People
* Danny Altmann, British immunologist
*Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
*Danny Baker (born 1957), English journali ...
*
Jessica Henwick
Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...
as
Colleen Wing
Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...
*
Tom Pelphrey
Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series ''Guiding Light'' and ''As the World Turns'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Ci ...
as
Ward Meachum
Ward Meachum is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In his original comic book appearances, he is depicted as the brother of Harold Meachum and the uncle of Joy Meachum.
Ward was portrayed by Tom Pe ...
*
Jessica Stroup
Jessica Leigh Stroup (born October 23, 1986) is an American actress, best known for her role as Erin Silver on '' 90210'' (2008–2013), Max Hardy on ''The Following'' (2014–2015) and Joy Meachum on '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), which is set i ...
as
Joy Meachum
*
Sacha Dhawan
Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...
as
Davos
*
Simone Missick
Simone Missick (née Cook; born January 19, 1982) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Detective Misty Knight in ''Luke Cage'', a role she also plays in '' The Defenders' ...
as
Misty Knight
Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Tony Isabella and Arvell Jones, Knight was first mentioned (by name) in ''Marvel Premiere'' #20 (Jan. 1975) and appeared in ...
*
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
as
"Typhoid Mary" Walker
Recurring
*
Giullian Yao Gioiello as BB
* Natalie Smith as Bethany
* Jason Lai as Rhyno
* Christine Toy Johnson as Sherry Yang
*
James Chen as
Sam Chung
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictio ...
* Jowin Marie Batoon as Torx
* Sydney Mae Diaz as Hex
*
Fernando Chien as Chen Wu
Notable guests
* Henry Yuk as Hai-Qing Yang
*
Hoon Lee
Tong Hoon Lee (born July 18, 1973) is an American stage, film and television actor, known for playing Job in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' and the King in the Broadway revival of ''The King and I'', and voicing Hamato Yoshi/Splinter in ...
as
Lei Kung
* Andrew Pang as Donnie Chang
*
Murray Bartlett
Murray Bartlett (born 20 March 1971) is an Australian actor. His roles include Dominic "Dom" Basaluzzo in the HBO comedy-drama series '' Looking'', Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the Netflix revival of ''Tales of the City'', and Armond in the HBO ...
as Paul Edmonds
*
Rob Morgan as
Turk Barrett
Turk Barrett is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted in stories featuring Daredevil, in which his inept schemes are played as comic relief.
Barrett was a recurring c ...
Production
Development
In January 2015,
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
CCO
Ted Sarandos
Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. is an American businessman who serves as the co-chief executive officer and chief content officer for Netflix.
Early life
Sarandos was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was Ted Sarandos Sr, an electrician, and ...
stated the series was "eligible to go into multiple seasons for sure" and Netflix would look at "how well
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
are addressing both the Marvel fanbase but also the broader fanbase" in terms of determining whether additional seasons would be appropriate.
In July 2015, Sarandos said some of the Defenders series would "selectively have multiple seasons as they come out of the gate."
At
San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...
2017, the second season of ''Iron Fist'' was announced,
with
Raven Metzner
M. Raven Metzner is an American screenwriter and producer.
Career
Raven started his career with the movie '' Elektra'' before moving on to television projects such as ''Clue'', '' Falling Skies'' and '' Sleepy Hollow''. Metzner later replaced ...
taking over as
showrunner from
Scott Buck
Scott Randall Buck is an American television writer. Buck has written for several television series including '' Six Feet Under'', ''Rome'', Showtime's ''Dexter'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Coach'', ''Inhumans'', '' The Oblongs'' and '' Iro ...
, who served that role for the first season.
Marvel Television
Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
head and series executive producer
Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films '' Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...
explained that Marvel had known Buck would be unavailable for the next season of ''Iron Fist'' due to his commitments to another Marvel series, ''
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...
'', so the studio began looking for a replacement showrunner. Metzner pitched a story for the season that excited Marvel, and Loeb compared the change to a new writer taking over on a comic.
Writing
The season begins after the events of ''
The Defenders'', and sees Rand fulfill his promise to protect New York following the supposed death of
Matt Murdock at the end of that miniseries. For the season, Metzner also wanted to explore more of the mythology of
K'un-Lun than was shown in the first season by spending more time there.
Each episode is named after the issue title of various comics Danny Rand has appeared in,
after the first season named each episode after
Shaolin Kung Fu
Shaolin Kung Fu (), also called Shaolin Wushu (), or Shaolin quan (), is one of the oldest, largest, and most famous styles of wushu, or kung fu of Chan Buddhism. It combines Ch'an philosophy and martial arts and originated and was developed ...
sequences.
When asked how the season would be influenced by the criticisms of the first, Metzner said that Marvel had allowed him to tell his own story rather than follow on from the first season and so he just approached the project as a fan of the comics and characters. He described the second season as an "evolution" of the first.
Jones felt that Rand would be more relatable for the audience in the second season after moving in with his girlfriend and spending less time around Rand Enterprises. Metzner described this approach as "
holistic
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED On ...
", wanting the series to feel like being on the streets of New York.
Casting
Finn Jones
Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Netflix television shows '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018) ...
,
Jessica Henwick
Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...
,
Tom Pelphrey
Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series ''Guiding Light'' and ''As the World Turns'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Ci ...
,
Jessica Stroup
Jessica Leigh Stroup (born October 23, 1986) is an American actress, best known for her role as Erin Silver on '' 90210'' (2008–2013), Max Hardy on ''The Following'' (2014–2015) and Joy Meachum on '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), which is set i ...
, and
Sacha Dhawan
Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...
reprise their roles as
Danny Rand / Iron Fist
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
People
* Danny Altmann, British immunologist
*Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
*Danny Baker (born 1957), English journali ...
,
Colleen Wing
Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...
,
Ward Meachum
Ward Meachum is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In his original comic book appearances, he is depicted as the brother of Harold Meachum and the uncle of Joy Meachum.
Ward was portrayed by Tom Pe ...
,
Joy Meachum, and
Davos, respectively. They are joined in the season by
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
as
Typhoid Mary.
Metzner had previously written a different version of Typhoid Mary for the film ''
Elektra'' (2005), and was always interested in that character and well-versed in her comic story. Eve described her introduction in the season as an origin story that explores the mystery of the character's multiple personalities, while Loeb said, "We meet her at a certain point in her life and then cards get tipped over as you go."
With the announcement of the season, it was revealed that
Simone Missick
Simone Missick (née Cook; born January 19, 1982) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Detective Misty Knight in ''Luke Cage'', a role she also plays in '' The Defenders' ...
would appear, reprising her role as
Misty Knight
Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Tony Isabella and Arvell Jones, Knight was first mentioned (by name) in ''Marvel Premiere'' #20 (Jan. 1975) and appeared in ...
from previous
MCU Netflix series.
This allows for the exploration of the
Daughters of the Dragon team that Wing and Knight form in the comics.
James Chen had also joined the cast as Sam Chung, a role loosely based on the comics supporting character of the
same name.
Filming
Filming for the season was expected to begin "soon" after it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con,
with actor
Sacha Dhawan
Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...
saying then that "they're hopefully starting" by December 2017.
By December 13, filming on the season had begun,
in New York City where the production
wrapped on May 10, 2018. Jones described this as the end of a "long and physical 7 month winter shoot".
Extensive filming took place in New York's
Chinatown.
Niels Alpert served as cinematographer for the season.
Clayton Barber took over as the fight coordinator for the season, having also served in the role on Marvel's ''
Black Panther'' (2018),
after the fight choreography of the first season was widely criticized. Barber was inspired by "old school kung fu" such as the works of
Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
, and wanted to make the fights of the series feel like "a punk rock song".
Metzner noted that Jones had months of lead time before work on the season began to "hone his skills" with the fighting and stunts, and said that he and the rest of the cast along with Barber "really pushed themselves" with the fight sequences in the season. Jones added that all of the fight scenes have "an emotional standpoint" so that they drive the story forward rather than simply being "awesome fight scenes" for the sake of having fights.
Music
Robert Lydecker composed the music for the season.
Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins
The fictional country of Sokovia that was introduced in the MCU film ''
Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015) is referenced in the season as part of Walker's past as an operative in the country.
Marketing
Jones, Henwick, Missick, Eve, Loeb, Metzner, and Barber promoted the season at San Diego Comic-Con 2018.
Charles Pulliam-Moore of
io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
felt the footage shown at the panel left him optimistic for the season, since "It finally feels like ''Iron Fist'' may have figured out what people wanted out of this show in the first place." He felt the clips showed "how drastic an improvement" there was to the fight choreography, thanks in part to new fight coordinator Barber joining the series. One clip that showed Rand facing Davos in K'un-Lun felt "brutal and bloody" while also being "fluid and elegant in a way that feels fresh, new, and like what you want from ''Iron Fist''."
At the panel, Loeb appeared in a karate costume, as part of a comedic bit with Henwick, who later appeared on stage telling Loeb to remove the outfit. Some criticized the outfit as insensitive and "several layers of bad".
Release
The second season of ''Iron Fist'', consisting of ten episodes,
was released on September 7, 2018, on the
streaming service Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
worldwide,
in
Ultra HD
Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9. These were first proposed b ...
4K and
high dynamic range
High dynamic range (HDR) is a dynamic range higher than usual, synonyms are wide dynamic range, extended dynamic range, expanded dynamic range.
The term is often used in discussing the dynamic range of various signals such as images, videos, au ...
.
The season, along with the additional ''Iron Fist'' season and the other
Marvel Netflix series, was removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, due to Netflix's license for the series ending and Disney regaining the rights.
The season became available on
Disney+
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on March 16, ahead of its debut in Disney+'s other markets by the end of 2022.
Critical response
The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported a 55% approval rating, based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. 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."
Metacritic assigned a score of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from six critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
References
External links
*
{{Marvel Cinematic Universe, selected=TV series
2018 American television seasons
02