>>76986891I think to some extent, they can.
We need to accept that we're probably not going to get lots of shots of K'un Lun or a prolonged fight with Shou Lao, or lots of chi-blasts. The Netflix shows have a budget of, what, 30 million a season or so? That level of special effects would be more along the lines of what Game of Throes does each year, and their seasonal budget is around 60-80 million. They just can't afford that level of CGI.
So, they might just set Iron Fist up in NY's Chinatown, and while he might do some cool super kung fu stuff like punch people through walls or deflect bullets with his hands, and he may run up against supernatural foes along the lines of Nobu or Madame Gao, it'll all probably be practical effects and wirework, with an absolute minimum of CGI. Danny's backstory may be talked about or alluded to, but for the most part it probably won't be shown. Every now and then, though... Well, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KVsrDHUo-IImagine lots of talk over the season about how "the time is drawing near" and "the heavens will align soon" and shit like that from characters like Gao. Then Danny sees things on the news like this video, portents that shit is coming soon. We get maybe half a dozen moments like that over the course of the season, very brief glimpses, tears in the veil that hides K'un Lun from our world. You get a sense where all this crazy supernatural shit is coming from and how much more is lurking out there, behind the veil. And maybe, MAYBE, we see a brief flashback to him training in K'un Lun, or entering the cave to fight Shou Lao with the dragon lurking in the shadows.
But for the bulk of the show, it'd be martial arts action in New York, with the supernatural stuff played similar to Daredevil, just a bit more so.
