The cast and showrunner of Netflix’s most talked-about series ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist’ - Finn Jones (Danny Rand), Jessica Stroup (Joy Meachum), Tom Pelphrey (Ward Meachum) and showrunner Scott Buck - were in Singapore yesterday to talk about the series, their filming experiences and how they joined the series.

If you’re wondering if they were here to seize the perfect opportunity to address the controversies surrounding the 13-episode series, then you, like the other 50-plus journalists who attended the press conference, are absolutely wrong. There was no time allocated for the media to ask questions, or any interviews planned; perhaps it was the decision of Netflix or Marvel to defend the show's 'whitewashing' controversy and negative reviews. However, one journalist managed to get his question answered, asking Jones’ opinion about the bad reviews.

“From what I’ve been experiencing, people have been loving the show. The people that I see on the street, there’s a hugely overwhelmingly positive response from the fans, and I’m very grateful for that,” said the 29-year-old actor. 
 

Photo Courtesy of: Netflix

And he has the statistics to support it. 

Variety reported that “Marvel’s Iron Fist” was the most binge-watched this year for a Netflix drama, according to data from research firm 7Park Data, which measures the number of streams on subscription video services.

“The company found that 54.7% of “Iron Fist” streams on the premiere date were of episodes three or higher. The average hour-long show on Netflix has a binge score of 46.9%.

“Iron Fist” also accounted for 14.6% of all Netflix streams on March 17 — the highest percentage of any series premiere that 7Park measured, topping “Stranger Things” (4.0%), “Marvel’s Luke Cage” (12.8%), “Marvel’s Daredevil” Season 2 (13.8%), and “Orange is the New Black” Season 4.”


Produced by Marvel Entertainment, “Iron Fist” tells the story of Danny Rand, an heir to a lucrative business empire who fights crime as the Iron Fist. The series is based on the classic Marvel Comics character.

Taking about secrecy, Marvel has a reputation for its intense secrecy, and it is no wonder that all of the cast didn’t even know what show they were auditioning for when they sent their tapes over to be considered a role on the superhero series. 
 

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“Marvel is very secretive. At that time when I got an audition for the project, it was called something strange and the character was called Walter. I put it on tape and sent it over. About a month and a half later I got a call say they wanted to test me for this project. I was very flattered but I still had no idea what the project,” said Pelphrey. 

Stroup cited a similar experience with her on-screen brother: “ I got to audition with a different character name and didn’t know what the character was. I pushed everything away because I wanted to work for a Netflix programme to see what the platform was like. I got the call, flew to New York and auditioned with Pelphrey!
 

Photo Credit: Netflix

For Jones, it was his last day of filming with Game Of Thrones that he sent a tape for the titular role. “It was great to go into another job,” he shared. “I’ve been working for 6 years with Game of Thrones and this is the first time that I got to do this. I didn’t get the script when I auditioned for the role and so I didn’t really know much about it until I signed the papers and read the script… I loved it.”

He also shared that he had just wrapped for 'Marvel's The Defenders' last week. The Defenders follows Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist. A quartet of singular heroes with one common goal - to save New York City. This is the story of four solitary figures, burdened with their own personal challenges, who realise they just might be stronger when teamed together.

"It was a lot of fun," he recalled. "All four of us have a great dynamic on set, both as friends and as the characters." The Defenders is slated to premiere later this year.


 
Marvel's Iron Fist is now streaming on Netflix.


 
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