Comic-book-to-film adapters have to walk such a thin line. I'd be worried that changing the character's ethnicity to Asian, just for having an Asian actor's sake, would be pretty blatant tokenism.
I think he's too old now, and he never was a gifted thespian, but I would not have had a problem with Ray Park in the role, back when they were considering him. I could also see Dave Franco, based on his physicality in Now You See Me.
That's it! Make it a kid, so it can be like that classic Burt Reynolds feature, "Cop and a Half!"
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones take it wise-crackin' martial arts masterin' street urchin Danny Rand, a 10 year-old with the power of the Iron Fist!
Oh, and we'll have two girls with crushes on the kid (the Betty and Veronica angle), but he'll still find girls "icky." We'll name the girls Misty and Colleen.
Danny (along with Misty and Colleen) and his best friend in the world, a mangy mutt named "Lockjaw," (It is a comic reference, the kids'll love it!), take on the neighborhood bullies in a series of laugh a minute gags a la the Home Alone films!
By all that is holy and just peoples, it almost writes itself!
That's it! Make it a kid, so it can be like that classic Burt Reynolds feature, "Cop and a Half!"
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones take it wise-crackin' martial arts masterin' street urchin Danny Rand, a 10 year-old with the power of the Iron Fist!
Oh, and we'll have two girls with crushes on the kid (the Betty and Veronica angle), but he'll still find girls "icky." We'll name the girls Misty and Colleen.
Danny (along with Misty and Colleen) and his best friend in the world, a mangy mutt named "Lockjaw," (It is a comic reference, the kids'll love it!), take on the neighborhood bullies in a series of laugh a minute gags a la the Home Alone films!
By all that is holy and just peoples, it almost writes itself!
no one said "should"... more like a "nice to have" or "why the fck not"...
and it makes 100% sense that a white dude is the savior and representative of a mystical land that looks like this...
from the nerds of color piece:
"What does change, however, in making Danny non-white is that it removes the white savior syndrome of the original story. In the comics, it turns out Danny is the most gifted student Lei Kung had ever trained. Because of course he is. For all the fans who might decry an Iron Fist racebend, do you really want yet another white-guy-is-better-at-being-Asian-than-the-Asians story? But 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 re-connection. In fact, I’d play up Danny’s rejection of his Asian heritage prior to venturing to China. I know as someone who similarly connected to my cultural heritage later in life, that story would be deeply resonant to me. And you know what would be really dope? If the writers also played up the actual Kunlun Mountains of Chinese mythology on the show."
With Iron Fist, they're to a certain extent damned if they do, damned if they don't. Cast a white actor, and the non-comic book fans will call it White Man To The Rescue syndrome. Cast an Asian actor, and the comic book fans will call it tokenism. Their safest bet is to a) avoid the character altogether (Moon Knight is available, I hear), or b) cast a black guy. Here's hoping they don't do the safe thing, follow AxelBrass's advice, and just let some people be irritated.
With Iron Fist, they're to a certain extent damned if they do, damned if they don't. Cast a white actor, and the non-comic book fans will call it White Man To The Rescue syndrome. Cast an Asian actor, and the comic book fans will call it tokenism. Their safest bet is to a) avoid the character altogether (Moon Knight is available, I hear), or b) cast a black guy. Here's hoping they don't do the safe thing, follow AxelBrass's advice, and just let some people be irritated.
Just please - no Ben Affleck.
I'd actually like to see Moon Knight in a more supernatural type show. Making an MK street-level show will further the misconception he's a Batman ripoff. Have a series that's open to Morpheius & Werewolf by Night, but can still spotlight street level type villains. Keep in the mold created with the initial series.
And don't tell I'm going to have to validate Affleck here too. It'll be a lot of copy & paste!
the comments are more interesting than the article...
Jack Connell · Top Commenter Shaun Higgins Being the Iron Fist means being the champion of K'un L'un, the pride of K'un L'un, their weapon. In the Heart of Heaven, each city's Immortal Weapon represents them. To all intents and purposes, within the story, the Iron Fist IS the best fighter in K'un L'un. Also, in a series about Iron Fist, you think they're going to focus on Lei Kung? You think the viewer's going to know that? Lei Kung is a mentor character, a passive force in the story. He's not the centre of attention. Danny Rand will be.
Daniel McGowan · Top Commenter · Brooklyn, New York Iron Fist has been one of my favorite characters since I was a kid and I absolutely agree with Keith Chow. It is super problematic that the champion of K'un-Lun is a blonde haired, blue eyed white dude.
Alex Gannaway · GM Customer Service at Aeria Games As a fan of Iron Fist (especially the way he's recently gone from b-list hero to more of a focal character in the Marvel U) I would actually enjoy seeing a re-casting for an Iron Fist movie or even the planned Netflix show. The character is deeply-rooted in Asian mythology and iconography so I feel the transition would be very natural for the character and would fit just fine. Plus, if they happen to make it one of the other Immortal Weapons from K'un Lun, the racial change wouldn't upset the more rigid fans out there.
The problem with Iron Fist was that he was even more of an early 20th century pulp throwback than Shang-Chi. Which is saying something when Shang-Chi actually had characters from early 20th century pulps in it.
White millionaire raised by monks in a hidden city in the Himalayas, he's more The Green Lama than Bruce Lee. But that's what you get when you want Roy Thomas to write something cashing in on the 70s martial arts craze. Thomas states that his origin is inspired by Bill Everett's 1939 comic Amazing Man (which in turn was inspired by The Shadow and The Green Lama).
i'd rather they make Moon Knight an Asian American...
coz Moon Knight is 100x cooler than Iron Fist
You can't do that to a character who's wearing a white costume!!
M
Is that supposed to be a joke?
I forget the initial context, but anytime I refer to MK wearing a white costume I'm joking. The notion he wore a white costume has been a long running joke.
i'd rather they make Moon Knight an Asian American...
coz Moon Knight is 100x cooler than Iron Fist
You can't do that to a character who's wearing a white costume!!
M
Is that supposed to be a joke?
I forget the initial context, but anytime I refer to MK wearing a white costume I'm joking. The notion he wore a white costume has been a long running joke.
M
Every appearance of Moon Knight in a white costume is clearly an impostor.
Comments
I think he's too old now, and he never was a gifted thespian, but I would not have had a problem with Ray Park in the role, back when they were considering him. I could also see Dave Franco, based on his physicality in Now You See Me.
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones take it wise-crackin' martial arts masterin' street urchin Danny Rand, a 10 year-old with the power of the Iron Fist!
Oh, and we'll have two girls with crushes on the kid (the Betty and Veronica angle), but he'll still find girls "icky." We'll name the girls Misty and Colleen.
Danny (along with Misty and Colleen) and his best friend in the world, a mangy mutt named "Lockjaw," (It is a comic reference, the kids'll love it!), take on the neighborhood bullies in a series of laugh a minute gags a la the Home Alone films!
By all that is holy and just peoples, it almost writes itself!
yeah, that "logic" isn't at all racist.
and it makes 100% sense that a white dude is the savior and representative of a mystical land that looks like this...
from the nerds of color piece:
"What does change, however, in making Danny non-white is that it removes the white savior syndrome of the original story. In the comics, it turns out Danny is the most gifted student Lei Kung had ever trained. Because of course he is. For all the fans who might decry an Iron Fist racebend, do you really want yet another white-guy-is-better-at-being-Asian-than-the-Asians story? But 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 re-connection. In fact, I’d play up Danny’s rejection of his Asian heritage prior to venturing to China. I know as someone who similarly connected to my cultural heritage later in life, that story would be deeply resonant to me. And you know what would be really dope? If the writers also played up the actual Kunlun Mountains of Chinese mythology on the show."
1 - Make it a good story.
2 - Get a good director.
3 - Cast a good actor. Make the character interesting, likeable, etc.
Either approach is fine, if it's well done. Different hearts to the stories, to be sure, but either could work.
http://www.pajiba.com/celebrities_are_better_than_you/felicia-day-explains-to-simpletons-why-a-black-human-torch-is-good-but-a-white-tiger-lily-is-bad.php#.UydQpPldXh4
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/13/casting-controversy-rooney-mara-tiger-lily-peter-pan-prequel-153994
Just please - no Ben Affleck.
And don't tell I'm going to have to validate Affleck here too. It'll be a lot of copy & paste!
M
M
Would also love a Moon Knight, werewolf by night series too :)
the comments are more interesting than the article...
Jack Connell · Top Commenter
Shaun Higgins Being the Iron Fist means being the champion of K'un L'un, the pride of K'un L'un, their weapon. In the Heart of Heaven, each city's Immortal Weapon represents them. To all intents and purposes, within the story, the Iron Fist IS the best fighter in K'un L'un. Also, in a series about Iron Fist, you think they're going to focus on Lei Kung? You think the viewer's going to know that? Lei Kung is a mentor character, a passive force in the story. He's not the centre of attention. Danny Rand will be.
Daniel McGowan · Top Commenter · Brooklyn, New York
Iron Fist has been one of my favorite characters since I was a kid and I absolutely agree with Keith Chow. It is super problematic that the champion of K'un-Lun is a blonde haired, blue eyed white dude.
Alex Gannaway · GM Customer Service at Aeria Games
As a fan of Iron Fist (especially the way he's recently gone from b-list hero to more of a focal character in the Marvel U) I would actually enjoy seeing a re-casting for an Iron Fist movie or even the planned Netflix show. The character is deeply-rooted in Asian mythology and iconography so I feel the transition would be very natural for the character and would fit just fine. Plus, if they happen to make it one of the other Immortal Weapons from K'un Lun, the racial change wouldn't upset the more rigid fans out there.
White millionaire raised by monks in a hidden city in the Himalayas, he's more The Green Lama than Bruce Lee. But that's what you get when you want Roy Thomas to write something cashing in on the 70s martial arts craze. Thomas states that his origin is inspired by Bill Everett's 1939 comic Amazing Man (which in turn was inspired by The Shadow and The Green Lama).
click image to see the solicit
M