Marvel’s Iron Fist casts Star Wars actress in lead role

Jessica Henwick has landed the coveted role of martial arts expert Colleen Wing in the Netflix series. A martial arts expert running her own dojo, Colleen will serve as an invaluable ally to Iron Fist, aka Danny Rand (Finn Jones), as he returns to his life in New York.

On Thrones, Henwick plays one of the Sand Snakes (the whip-cracking Nymeria Sand). She also had a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as X-Wing fighter pilot Jessika Pava. Previously, Henwick starred in the 2010 U.K. series Spirit Warriors, which was considered the first British TV series with a predominately East Asian cast. In the Marvel comics, her Iron Fist character is a saumari who first appears in Marvel Premiere #19 as one of Danny’s first friends after he left K’un-L’un.