It was recently revealed that Marvel Studios nixed an episode about Shang-Chi and Iron Fist in What If...?, but the newest episode skirted around that restriction.
While Charlie Cox's Matthew Murdock will make his big comeback to the MCU with Daredevil: Born Again, the rest of the street-level superheroes haven't been nearly as fortunate, least of all Iron Fist. Finn Jones still seems enthusiastic about Iron Fist despite the first season of his show being ravaged by fans and critics.
During the development of Season 3 of What If...?, one scrapped episode idea even revolved around Shang-Chi and, presumably, Danny Rand's Iron Fist, but Marvel Studios told director Bryan Andrews to shelve it. However, that didn't stop him and the team from including at least one iteration of the character.
An Iron Fist Appears in What If...?
In the sixth episode of What If...? Season 3, "What If... 1872?," starring Hailee Steinfeld's Hawkeye and Simu Liu's Shang-Chi hunting down The Hood, yet to make his live-action debut in Ironheart.
Tagging along is Jun-Fan, a child with remarkable skills as a fighter. However, the end of the episode heavily alludes to the child being an incarnation of the Iron Fist, with Bishop's line about him having "...some iron fists on him" and that Shang "...might have some competition," referencing their original scrapped idea.
However, Jun-Fan isn't another original character created for the show, like Darcy Lewis and Howard the Duck's baby, but a character from the comics. Created by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman, Kwai Jun-Fan was introduced in Immortal Iron Fist #17 as one of Danny Rand's predecessors from 1878.
Skirting the Line with Marvel Studios?
One rule that What If...? has to adhere to is that it cannot introduce characters that have yet to be introduced in live-action, meaning that an episode all about Shang-Chi and Danny Rand's Iron Fist proving who's the best martial artist wasn't on the table since MCU had yet to reintroduce the character in live-action.
However, that doesn't mean that the crew of What If...? couldn't skirt by on technicalities. Another example in the same episode is the Hood, who was meant to make his MCU debut in Ironheart, played by Anthony Ramos. However, the Hood in this episode is Xu Xialing, not Robbins.
As for Iron Fist, it's clear that Marvel Studios is still interested in the character if they told the crew of What If...? to shelve the episode idea. It might be because they already have plans to include him in a Shang-Chi sequel — something that's happened before with Jane Foster's Thor, Old Steve, and Professor Hulk.
A new episode of What If...? will be released every day on Disney+ until Sunday, December 29.
