We knew it was coming, but now we know for sure. "Game of Thrones" star Finn Jones has officially been announced by Marvel as the lead in its new Netflix series, "Iron Fist." The show will center on Danny Rand, a martial arts master with ties to the mystical world who returns to New York City after years in self-imposed exile.
It was rumored that Marvel had been having some trouble translating the character's more surreal elements to the grounded universe it had set up at Netflix and for a while there it seemed like "Iron Fist" may have been put on the backburner. However, things have moved quickly on the series as of late, and showrunner Scott Buck said that Jones was the perfect choice for the coveted role.
"Danny Rand is a very complicated character," Buck explained. "He's a billionaire New York Buddhist monk martial arts superhero who's still trying to figure out what exactly that all means. Finn is able to play all these levels in such an honest, revelatory way that as soon as I saw him I knew he was our Danny."
Marvel's "Iron Fist" will take place alongside fellow Netflix series "Jessica Jones," "Daredevil" and "Luke Cage" before the four series merge into a street-level Avengers crossover in "The Defenders" miniseries. Like the other Marvel properties on the streaming service, "Iron Fist" will consist of 13 episodes.
"Daredevil" will premiere a second season tomorrow (March 18). "Jessica Jones" was renewed for a second season following its well-received debut in November 2015 and "Luke Cage" will arrive in his own solo series this fall. Marvel has not announced a premiere date for "Iron Fist" yet, but that should be coming soon.
"Finn wonderfully blends confidence with vulnerability, making him the perfect choice as he struggles to find his place in the world," Marvel TV president Jeph Loeb said. "Now that we've found out Danny Rand, we've completed our principal cast for the upcoming Defenders on Netflix and we are thrilled to continue to show audiences unexplored corners of the Marvel universe."
Jones can next be seen in the sixth season of HBO's "Game of Thrones," which will arrive on Sunday, April 24 at 9 pm ET.
Follow Brandon Katz on Twitter at @Great_Katzby
