Ray Park Cast as Iron Fist

    January 02, 2001

Confirming rumors that have been circulating since last week, Artisan Entertainment has signed Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace and Toad in X-Men) to play the title role in the upcoming filmization of Iron Fist, which will be adapted by screenwriter John Turman. Artisan is currently seeking a director for the picture, with plans to fast track the film in order to put it into production before the potential Screen Actor's Guild strike goes into effect next year. The announcement was made today by Patrick Gunn, Executive Vice President, Artisan Entertainment.

The martial arts-themed Iron Fist will tell the story of Danny Rand, a westerner, who as a child was raised in a secret temple in the Far East and as an adult returns to the United States to seek revenge on his parents' murderer. The character has the power to channel his 'chi' into his fist and strike with the force of iron. Fittingly, both Park and Turman are accomplished martial artists.

Iron Fist represents the first official announcement in regards to a theatrical film to come out of the Artisan and Marvel joint venture, designed to produce and distribute character-based programming across multimedia outlets. Artisan and Marvel are also actively developing the legendary comic book character, The Mighty Thor, as a television property.