Ryan Phillippe let slip that Marvel is interested in him for a series on Netflix sparking rumors that he may play Danny Rand aka Iron Fist…
Ryan Phillippe, who is currently starring on the ABC series ‘Secrets and Lies’, appeared on The Howard Stern Show this week where the subject of superhero roles came up.
Phillippe discussed how at one time he was up for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the ‘Star Wars’ prequel that eventually went to Hayden Christiansen (why oh why couldn’t Ryan Phillipe have gotten the part?!?) and how he was close to landing the part of Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy although a deal never panned out (the part eventually went to Aaron Eckhart).
When Stern pressed Phillippe for any other roles that might be in the works, the 40-year old actor mentioned that Marvel is interested in him for a starring role in an upcoming series on Netflix.
“I’m meeting with Marvel,” Phillippe said. “(Marvel) is interested in talking about Netflix, a series possibly. The Daredevil series was great.”
Immediately when Phillippe mentioned Marvel and a Netflix series the idea of playing Danny Rand aka Iron Fist was the first possibility that came to mind.
Iron Fist is the fourth Netflix series that will likely begin production in 2016 behind Daredevil, AKA Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. All three of those series have already cast lead actors so if Phillippe is up for a lead with a Marvel series on Netflix by process of elimination it would have to be Iron Fist.
For those unfamiliar — Iron Fist is a character first created in 1974 as a martial arts expert before he is eventually possessed by the mystical Iron First power, which allows him super human abilities whenever he centers his spiritual energy. For many years, Iron Fist teamed up with Luke Cage, which makes perfect sense given the event series that Marvel plans down the road with Netflix called ‘The Defenders’, which will bring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Cage and Iron Fist together as a team.
Almost immediately after appearing on the show, Phillippe tried to throw cold water on the rumors with a post on Twitter but by that point the damage was already done.
I have no real marvel news other than an upcoming meeting. sorry to disappoint fans thought there was more to it. there is no story there.????
— Ryan Phillippe (@RyanPhillippe) April 29, 2015
While Phillippe’s meeting with Marvel is far from an offer, he would seem like a pretty solid candidate to play Danny Rand in the upcoming ‘Iron Fist’ show if they choose to go that route. Marvel has already started production on ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ with the series debuting most likely later this year. ‘Luke Cage’ already has a star and a show runner so looking ahead to ‘Iron Fist’ makes perfect sense.
Stay tuned for more details on this potential casting as information is revealed…
