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‘Iron Fist’ Casting: Jessica Stroup?, ?Tom Pelphrey?? Join Netflix Series

By Stephen Jordan
Published on: 09:41 PST, Apr 19, 2016

The cast for Netflix’s Iron Fist is still growing, just as filming has begun. 90210 actress Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey have signed on to join the series. Stroup will be playing Joy Meachum and Pelphrey (Banshee, Guiding Light) has been cast as her brother, Ward Meachum, according to Variety.

In the Iron Fist comics, Joy Meachum was the daughter of Harold Meachum – who will be played by David Wenham in the Netflix series. Joy blamed Iron Fist for the death of her father, even though he was innocent, and developed a long-lasting hatred for Iron Fist ever since.

“With the terrific addition of the very talented Jessica and Tom, we’ve now brought the entire Meachum family together,” said Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television. “While Marvel couldn’t be happier, Danny’s mission just got a lot more complicated.”

“I’m very happy to have Jessica and Tom as our Joy and Ward Meachum,” said Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott Buck. “Much like Danny Rand’s past is a mystery to us, we’ll discover along the way that the Meachum children have intriguing secrets of their own.”

Apparently, this completes the cast, with Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, and David Wenham playing the role of Harold Meachum. Earlier this month, Minority Report actor Arleo Dordar was alluding to the fact that he had already been cast in the show as well. The actor posted a picture of himself on his Instagram page with a new haircut and hashtags signaling other characters in this Marvel/Netflix universe. However, it seems that the post has since been taken down.

While the series may certainly be done casting, there are absolutely other roles (villainous ones) in the show that have not been announced, nor have had casting announcements. It was rumored that Dordar was going to be playing the Steel Serpent, a classic Iron Fist villain. The actor has some extensive martial arts training, so it is safe to assume that if he has been cast, he will be involved in some of the show’s fight sequences, at least.

Simone Missick has been cast in Luke Cage as Misty Knight, a character who has a romantic history with Danny Rand/Iron Fist in the comics. There’s a good chance Missick may appear as Misty Knight in Iron Fist, as well, unless the producers are going to hold that relationship until a later time or go in a different direction.

As for the “intriguing secrets” Joy and Ward Meachum may have, Ward might have some ties to criminals that will come back to haunt him, as he did in the comics. At one point, the Steel Serpent had been hired by Ward and worked for him, and thought up several ways to kill Iron Fist, but was never successful. There’s a chance that elements of this may come into the series.

“I’ve always been drawn to writing complex, intriguing characters, and that’s what most excites me about the opportunity to bring Danny Rand and Iron Fist to life with Marvel on Netflix,” said Iron Fist showrunner Buck.

Finn Jones will be joining Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Mike Colter on set later this fall when production on The Defenders begins. This will serve as the eight-episode miniseries that will tie all four characters and their shows together. Daredevil Season 2 showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez have been put in charge of The Defenders. It is set to premiere sometime in 2017, following the debuts of the Luke Cage series, which will debut September 30, 2016, and the currently in-production Iron Fist, also set for 2017.

An exact premiere date for Iron Fist has not been announced.

[Photo by Mireya Acierto/Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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