Finn Jones' potential Iron Fist return has been propped open by a now-prominent MCU showrunner.
Iron Fist is also known as Danny Thomas Rand, the Living Weapon, the protector of K'un-Lun, and conqueror of Shou-Lao the Undying. With so many important-sounding titles, one would think that the Iron Fist Netflix series is held in high esteem.
But the Finn Jones-led show was panned from the get-go, with critics citing weak performances, erratic pacing, and a noticeably low budget. The intervening years have softened the public's view of the character somewhat, though, and even Jones wants another run at the martial arts-centric role.
Daredevil: Born Again Team Brainstorming About More Iron Fist
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner and executive producer Dario Scardapane confirmed discussions about bringing in Finn Jones' Iron Fist (from the Netflix Marvel era).
Jones portrayed Danny Rand in two seasons of the Iron Fist solo series from 2017 to 2018. In between, Jones reprised Rand for the street-level team-up event, The Defenders. There, Danny met Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Charlie Cox's Daredevil.
Cox and several other stars from the Netflix Daredevil Series have made their grand return in the critically acclaimed Daredevil: Born Again revival on Disney+. Since Born Again is still set in New York City, fans have clamored for more New York-based heroes to show up, including Iron Fist. Scardapane said those heroes are "always in [his] mind:"
"Without giving too much away...when you're working in what I would call the Hell's Kitchen corner of the MCU, those iconic characters are always in your mind. The thing is that — and this is kind of hard, I'm trying to thread a needle here — you want to bring in people and relationships and past figures in Matt's life because they help the story."
Scardapane referenced the events of Born Again's Season 1 finale. The capper left things on a grim note, with Major Wilson Fisk violently seizing control of the city through martial law. Matt Murdock planned his next attack in response, refusing to turn his city over to his worst enemy:
"Particularly in terms of a story where Fisk has taken over the city. And there is a resistance and a rebellion, so to speak, rising. So there's going to be people, vigilantes, superheroes that are involved in that.
Matt's final lines of dialogue in Season 1 mention the need for "an army" in order to "take this city back." So, audiences might witness Iron Fist take on the Kingpin. But Scardapane cautioned that Danny's (or anyone else's) Born Again return would need to come by way of "a completely organic story:"
"There has to be because this is happening to their city. That said, you also want to create a completely organic story for that. So who comes in and why has to be beyond anything earned. So the easiest answer to your question is, yes, those characters that you just listed off are absolutely in my head and everybody's head as we're working. How that manifests itself is both really tricky writing-wise and a pretty closely guarded secret at this point. So I'm being intentionally cagey, but I'm also saying, 'Hell yeah!' in terms of it's something we're thinking about."
While Finn Jones has not officially been cast in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, ideas to bring the actor in for more Iron Fist action are confirmed to be percolating at Marvel.
Should Iron Fist Appear in Daredevil: Born Again?
As Dario Scardapane touched on in his interview with Entertainment Weekly, crafting a reprisal for Finn Jones' Iron Fist would need to be done with clear intent.
Shoehorning a popular character's resurgence into a work of fiction without a solid plan in place rarely works out. It's how Star Wars fans came to shudder at the phrase, "Somehow, Palpatine returned."
That's not to say that the inclusion of a beloved character can't backfire either, even if the writers have a roadmap. Some Star Trek devotees gradually grew irritated with John de Lancie's wacky cosmic trickster Q the more the space god kept popping up during the '90s.
This is not to mention that Iron Fist is starting the game with a handicap. Viewers had many problems with the Iron Fist Netflix show, but Finn Jones seemed to represent one of the biggest. Fans railed at Jones for his lack of choreographed fighting prowess, ham-fisted deliveries, and for being a face of the "white savior" trope.
Iron Fist Season 2 was better received than the first (as well as Danny's part in The Defenders). Jones also guest-starred in an episode of Luke Cage's final season, where Cage helped imbue Danny with a likable quality and a sense of humor while evoking some classic Heroes for Hire fun.
Still, the bad seems to outweigh the good with Iron Fist's audience perception, with large swaths of the Marvel fanbase forgetting about the character's later improvements, neglecting to watch those episodes, or refusing to change their opinion.
In March 2025, Mike Colter offered a glimmer of hope that he'll pull on another bullet hole-riddled yellow tee and take another crack at Luke Cage (read about Colter's comments about playing Luke again here). A team-up featuring the storied partnership of Power Man and Iron Fist might sway more stubborn fans to tune in.
