Iron Fist: Finn Jones Blames Trump for Negative Reactions

CBR

By Brandon Staley

Published Mar 14, 2017

The actor, who plays Danny Rand in Netflix's Iron Fist, defends the series by claiming that Rand is too reminiscent of American politics.

It's no secret by now that the first six episodes of Netflix's upcoming "Iron Fist" series have not been screening well with critics. The show's star, Finn Jones, who plays the superhero martial artist Danny Rand in the series, has seen fit to defend his work. While Jones' previous explanation was that the series was for fans, not critics, his latest reasoning is a bit harder to follow. Jones now claims that Rand doesn't connect with audiences because he's too much like United States President Donald Trump.

According to an interview with RadioTimes, Finn claims "Iron Fist" is a victim of the times, a character maligned for his privileged upbringing as a white, American billionaire.

"I think the world has changed a lot since we were filming that television show," Jones said. "I’m playing a white American billionaire superhero, at a time when the white American billionaire archetype is public enemy number one, especially in the US. We filmed the show way before Trump’s election, and I think it’s very interesting to see how that perception, now that Trump’s in power, how it makes it very difficult to root for someone coming from white privilege, when that archetype is public enemy number one."

"Iron Fist" is the final Marvel Netflix show set to debut before the streaming giant's team-up miniseries "The Defenders" brings together the protagonists from "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist" to do battle with their greatest foe yet. According to Jones, critics don't have the full picture. While the first season of "Iron Fist" will conclude with the season finale, "Dragon Plays with Fire," Rand's story isn't done until the last episode of "The Defenders."

"Danny is a fish out of water, and you don’t really understand where he’s coming from," Jones said. "But I think there’s also a level of intrigue. People need to see the full series–'Iron Fist' doesn’t end until the last episode of 'Defenders.' He really goes on a journey of self-discovery, and grows into the role. It’s paced out; it’s a long journey."

"Iron Fist" was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in 1974. First appearing in "Marvel Premiere" #15, the character was introduced with Luke Cage as a way for Marvel Comics to break into the then-burgeoning Kung Fu and Blaxploitation film industries, respectively. The two characters have a long history of working together, first teamed in "Power Man" #48, which transitioned into "Power Man and Iron Fist" with the 50th issue.

Debuting on Netflix on March 17, "Iron Fist" is a production of Marvel Television developed by Scott Buck and starring Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, David Wenham, Jessica Stroup, Tom Pelphrey and Rosario Dawson.