Claim: Iron Fist's development began in the 21st century.

Marvel 's Iron Fist , or simply Iron Fist , is an American web television series created for Netflix by Scott Buck , based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name . It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -LRB- MCU -RRB- , sharing continuity with the films of the franchise and is the fourth in a series of shows that will lead up to The Defenders crossover miniseries . The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Devilina Productions , with Buck serving as showrunner .   Finn Jones stars as Danny Rand / Iron Fist , a martial arts expert with the ability to call upon the power of the Iron Fist . Jessica Henwick , Tom Pelphrey , Jessica Stroup , Ramón Rodríguez , Sacha Dhawan , Rosario Dawson and David Wenham also star . After a film based on the character spent over a decade in development at Marvel Studios , development for the series began in late 2013 at Marvel Television , with Buck hired as the series showrunner in December 2015 and Jones cast as Rand in February 2016 . Filming began in New York City in April 2016 and concluded in October 2016 .   Iron Fist had its premiere on March 15 , 2017 , in New York City , with the full season of 13 episodes releasing on Netflix on March 17 , 2017 . The series received mixed reviews from critics , with criticism aimed towards its pace and storytelling , underwhelming fight sequences , and Jones ' portrayal of Rand , while Henwick 's performance as Colleen Wing and the appearances of established characters Claire Temple and Jeri Hogarth received praise . Third-party data analytics determined the series had strong initial viewership , but this was shortly cut in half .