'Iron Fist' Trailer: Is Claire Temple Recruiting Danny Rand For 'The Defenders'?

With Netflix's Iron Fist series only a few months away from release, the newest trailer gives us a good picture of what we'll see in Danny Rand's journey to becoming #IronFist. Danny Rand (Finn Jones) will spend the majority of Iron Fist dealing with the shadowy organization invading New York. However, somewhere along the way, Danny Rand is going to run into Claire Temple and the two of them are going to have an interesting conversation.

In the newest trailer, we can hear Claire speaking to Danny about what sounds like a proposal for Danny to join the Defenders. The dialogue begins with Danny vaguely explaining why he has returned to New York, with a remark about the people he's hunting down being his purpose in the city:

"Some bad people have gotten on the inside."

Danny's description of them isn't enough to identify who he's speaking about, but it's safe to assume the people he's referring to are associated with an underground criminal organization, one that will come into direct conflict with Danny during Iron Fist.

After hearing Danny speak of the shadowy figures invading New York City, Claire then chimes in with a request of sorts.

"I know what they are, what they can do. To fight them, we need someone with special skills".

Claire's response to Danny sounds like she's more informed about the people Danny is after than he is. More importantly, it sounds like Claire trying to convince Danny to join her and her unidentified friends, whom we can assume are the Defenders.

However, there's a small possibility that Claire's dialogue in the trailer was directed toward Colleen Wing, since Claire can be seen standing in a martial arts studio that Colleen probably runs.

Are The Defenders Already Assembled, Sans Danny Rand?

Still, it seems likely that Claire Temple has taken notice of Danny Rand and is seeking his help as she assists the Defenders in recruiting their last member. If so, that would imply several new connections between The Defenders and Iron Fist series.

First off, if Claire is recruiting Danny Rand, that would mean the rest of the Defenders team is already assembled during the events of Iron Fist. Secondly, Claire's potential reference to #TheDefenders could mean they're taking on the same criminal case as Danny Rand, in which case they may run into each other chasing after a common suspect.

The criminals they are pursuing probably have some affiliation with The Hand, the main antagonist of The Defenders series, but it's unclear if the criminals Danny Rand comes into contact with are associated with The Hand.

We should also note that since Claire is recruiting members of the Defenders, she'll likely play an integral role in the Defenders team, especially when we consider how often supporting members of crime-fighting groups wind up in the middle of the action (see Cisco Ramon from The Flash, Fits and Simmons from Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Felicity on Arrow).

The Defenders is still TBD.

As for the Defenders themselves, it would be interesting to learn that most of the team has assembled during the events of Iron Fist. If so, their union would imply that Luke Cage has somehow been freed from Iron Heights.

Cage was last seen being taken back to Iron Heights at the conclusion of Netflix's Luke Cage but if he's with the Defenders, he's probably been freed by mysterious circumstances, or Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil was able to clear Luke Cage of his crimes.