Deadline reported Wednesday that Marvel Studios has hired a screenwriter to begin work on a film based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Fist. Rich Wilkes, best known for creating the "xXx" movie franchise, will draft the story of Daniel Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist, a 1970s martial arts character created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.

This is good news for Iron Fist fans, who've been waiting quite some time for a live-action depiction of the kung-fu hero. Nearly ten years ago, "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" star Ray Park was to appear as Iron Fist in a film from now-defunct Artisan Entertainment, and the property has been languishing in various Hollywood offices ever since (although Park expressed interest in reprising the role as early as last year).

In the publishing world, Iron Fist's star ascended in the last few years thanks to creators Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction and David Aja, whose modern, dimension-spanning "The Immortal Iron Fist" series was a hit with critics and fans and collected in a number of editions.

The Iron Fist film and the previously announced "Dr. Strange" will be the first of Marvel Studios' films to be distributed by Disney since Marvel's acquisition by the entertainment giant.

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