Iron Fist Casting
Jessica Stroup has been cast as Joy Meachum in “Marvel’s Iron Fist,” but the addition of her brother reveals comic book changes. Stroup is pictued at the Epson Digital Couture on Feb. 10, 2015 in New York. Getty

It’s something Marvel Comics fans have gotten used to with each movie and TV show: changes. The screen adaptations can never stay exactly the same, so it isn’t surprising that “Marvel’s Iron Fist,” the latest Netflix superhero drama, will follow that pattern.

The series has cast the Meachums, enemies of Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Finn Jones). Jessica Stroup will play Joy Meachum while Tom Pelphrey plays Ward Meachum, Marvel revealed. While Ward was originally Joy’s uncle, the show has aged him down. He’ll now be Joy’s brother.

The siblings run Rand Enterprises, the title of which is slightly different from the comics. It used to be Rand-Meachum Inc. Taking out the Meachum name makes it clear that the siblings took over something that belonged to Danny. Joy and Ward’s jobs will be in jeopardy when Danny returns after being missing for years.

It looks like the trio was friendly as children. A photo from the official Iron Fist twitter shows three pairs of kids’ feet and notes that the Meachums didn’t expect to ever see Danny again.

In the comics, it was their father Harold Meachum (David Wenham) who was responsible for the death of Danny’s parents. He wanted to take over the business, and it looks like he got his wish. However, Harold and his children might have some regrets after Danny returns to New York to avenge his parents’ death.

It isn’t just the Meachum patriarch who has a shady past. Expect the Meachum siblings to have some scandalous secrets. “I’m very happy to have Jessica and Tom as our Joy and Ward Meachum,” executive producer Scott Buck said in a press release. “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.”

Even comic book fans can’t be sure they know all of the Meachums’ secrets. Fans will have to watch to find out what they’re hiding, but Netflix hasn’t revealed a premiere date for “Iron Fist” Season 1 yet.

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