People are not happy with the casting for Marvel's upcoming Netflix series, "Iron Fist."
Thursday, Entertainment Weekly reported Finn Jones, best known as Ser Loras in HBO's "Game of Thrones," landed the role of the martial-arts expert Iron Fist.
Backlash quickly broke out on social media. Many fans had campaigned for an Asian Danny Rand under the #AAIronFist hashtag.
This could have been a great opportunity for diverse casting, challenging @Netflix and @Marvel both to be more representative. #AAIronFist
— Juliet Shen (@Juliet_Shen) February 26, 2016
You missed a huge opportunity, @Marvel. You cast a great actor, but you didn't cast the right actor. It hurts. #IronFist#AAIronFist
— Devon Wong (@VignetteProject) February 25, 2016
Finn Jones cast. #GodsofEgypt opening. Then Oscars. This is officially the whitest weekend in Hollywood history. #OscarsSoWhite#AAIronFist
— The Nerds of Color (@TheNerdsofColor) February 26, 2016
I SEE THEY HAVE CAST THE NEW IRON FIST THEN pic.twitter.com/aDs14tOcyp
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) February 25, 2016Prominent writers and editors in the comics industry have also publicly voiced their disappointment with Marvel's chosen actor to portray Iron Fist.
"An Asian American Danny Rand can still be all the things from the comic: the son of a wealthy businessman on an expedition in China, student of Lei Kung, lover of Misty Knight, friend to Luke Cage,” Nerds of Color editor in chief Keith Chow told ComicsAlliance. “Danny being white is not essential to any of this."
Chow also co-edited "Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology," an anthology of original comics focusing on Asian American heroes. Chow began campaigning for an Asian actor to portray Iron Fist in 2014.
His sentiments were echoed by Marjorie Liu, a prominent Marvel writer whose work includes "X-23,""Dark Wolverine," and "Punisher."
Iron Fist is an orientalist-white-man-yellow-fever narrative. Asian actor would have helped subvert that offensive trope, and reclaim space.
— Marjorie Liu (@marjoriemliu) February 25, 2016Others, including Buzzfeed's Eugene Lee and oft-cited commenter 'blackamazon,' see this as a missed opportunity by Marvel to diversify its line-up of mostly White heroes.
Asians in superhero stories
✔️ Mystic ninjas
✔️ Mystic ninja villains
✔️ Mystic ninjas teaching white people ninja stuff
✖️ Lead characters
— Eugene Lee Yang (@EugeneLeeYang) February 25, 2016
Can we get ONE DAMN SUPERHERO that looks like a family member of 1 out of EVERY SIX PEOPLE in the WORLD
— ImperatorBlackSiren (@Blackamazon) February 26, 2016Join the conversation about this story »
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