Iron Fist pays homage to Asian action genre

MANILA, Philippines — The reviews are out and better things are being said (so far!) about Season 2 of Marvel’s Iron Fist, now streaming on Netflix, than its debut season.

The fight choreography is getting special mention from the likes of Rotten Tomatoes, the US review-aggregation site for film and TV. And it’s important to note how the new showrunner Raven Metzner had taken inspiration from the “long tradition” that is Asian action cinema when he took on the reins of the sophomore run. 

“The Asian influence on action shows can’t be overstated… Everything changed when American movies started to embrace that style of filmmaking and that’s something that I’ve been a student of and our stunt coordinator, Clayton Barber, has been a student of.”

This was what Raven told the press during his embargoed roundtable interview with The STAR, among others, at the AsiaPOP Comicon held at the MOA SMX Convention Center last July.

He was joined by lead star Finn Jones, who returns as Danny Rand, heir to a family of industrialists who becomes the Immortal Iron Fist and uses his martial arts abilities and mystical powers to defend people against criminals.

Finn Jones during his monthslong martial arts training for his title character

“And so to be here, and to be talking to all of you here at AsiaPOP is, I think, really important for the show because it comes from a long tradition. And it’s important that everyone knows that we respect tradition and we’re doing everything we can to respect it whenever we can,” added Raven, who also executive-produced Fox’s Sleepy Hollow, co-created ABC’s Six Degrees and served as consulting producer on NBC’s Heroes Reborn.

“We studied it,” he further said of the Asian action genre, “I made all the writers… we gave them a list of movies to watch before they could write the show.”

When asked what these films were, Raven offered a veritable list of martial arts movies that every cinephile should watch.

“I made them watch a lot of Jackie Chan movies, Drunken Master 2, specifically. All the IP Man movies (by) Donnie Yen. It’s really important for his character is Asian and also because he uses his power for peace. He doesn’t want to do violence. I think it’s very important for Iron Fist and for the writers to understand that it takes responsibility, (to have) the power of martial arts.”

For his must-watch list, Raven also cited a couple of Bruce Lee movies as well as the Indonesian actioner The Raid. “We made everyone watch The Raid because when people get hurt in that movie, they feel the pain. We want everyone to know that if you gonna punch someone… it hurts.”

For the showrunner, it was equally important to put Kung Fu Hustle into the mix. “And I made them watch Kung Fu Hustle because there’s so much fun and comedy, and lightness and hope, and I think the message of that movie — for all the craziness about the Buddha’s palm — we were watching about a villain who becomes a hero. Somebody goes on a character journey that’s really important and at the same time, you’re having fun. And I think one thing about this series (Iron Fist), is that we really want to make sure that as well as it’s serious and dark and greedy, it also has moments of light, fun and hope.”  

Raven has always tried to find a way to be part of Marvel’s Iron Fist. He pitched ideas for the inaugural season but couldn’t leave a TV project he was working on at that time. So, when the opportunity came up for Season 2, “I ran towards it.”

Stunt coach and mentor Clayton Barber on the set of Iron Fist

When asked how he prepared for a series that drew mixed if not critical reviews for its first season, Raven answered, “I’ve always prepared myself by reading comic books since I was 12 years old. As I’ve said, I’ve been studying and working on projects that are influenced by Hong Kong action so my preparation for this (Iron Fist) was since I was a little kid. I wasn’t looking to solve anyone’s problems. I wanted to make the Season 2 of Iron Fist the season I’ve always wanted to see.

“With Finn, we had a lot of conversations when we first met. What was important to us, what we wanted to see moving forward, what we wanted for the character and what we presented to the world in terms of themes was important for us. To me, it was an opportunity and a really powerful one to tell, what I hope is what everyone thinks as a really great story, work with really talented actors. And so, he’s (Finn)  been training physically and I’ve been training mentally since I was 12 years old by turning pages.”

Meanwhile, Season 2 is now streaming and if you haven’t watched it yet, you can be rest assured that there are spoilers here. Nevertheless, the finale hinted at a power shift and an emerging warrior.

“My hope is that this story isn’t over... it is just beginning,” Raven told fans in a Twitter Q&A last Sept. 14. 

There’s no telling yet if the show has been signed on for a third season on Netflix. But when a fan asked what type of story arcs and characters he’d like to see in Season 3, Raven said, “It is fair to say that I have a TON of ideas if given the opportunity.”

He also said that “I had a phenomenal time at @AsiaPOPComicon and would 100 percent go back in a heartbeat.”