I’ll admit, nowadays I’m more of a DC comics reader, but I grew up reading mostly Marvel comics, and I’ve been nothing short of amazed by what Marvel has done with their live-action films. I’m now even more excited for the Marvel shows coming to Netflix. Jessica Jones. Daredevil. Power Man. Iron Fist. This is like a fanboy’s dream come true, especially for Daredevil and Iron Fist. Done right they could be amazing, especially since they can be R-rated. Done wrong and it could be disastrous. There is one additional thing that both Daredevil and Iron Fist need other than the right stars to be successful.

The right fight choreographer. And it just so happens I know who you need to take a serious look at.

Larnell Stovall.

Why him? I’ll get back to that once we explore why the right kind of fight choreographer is so important. The first is budget. A show like Daredevil can’t afford the expensive and unnecessary wirework that was done for the Ben Affleck film, but can afford to have memorable fight scenes choreographed by someone adept at it. The second is the audience. They know and will look for great martial arts fight scenes from both Daredevil and Iron Fist…especially Iron Fist. The normal crappy American-TV fight scenes won’t do. Not with films soon to be released like The Raid 2, Police Story 2013, and The Protector 2. That’s the level of choreography that Daredevil and Iron Fist need to have. Audiences will know the difference between what’s good and what looks fake and obviously “Hollywood”.

And that brings me back to Larnell Stovall.

Here is his latest show reel:

Mr. Stovall has choreographed many different kinds of fight scenes for many types of action films, and is adept at tailoring the fight scenes to the personalities of the characters. This means he will have Daredevil fight in a style that fits that character, and Iron Fist fight in a style that fits him. Larnell will also do a great job at making the fights look great onscreen. He will make the fighters onscreen the best special effect you could have, and bring another crowd into both projects in addition to the comic book crowd: the martial arts film fan. Undisputed 3 is considered to be one of the best American martial arts films of the the last decade, in no small part to the fight choreography of Mr. Stovall.

Mr. Feige, I know I’m just one person. But I am one person who has his foot dipped in both film and comics, and I urge you to give Larnell Stovall a very long look to help your new endeavor with Netflix succeed. I’ve reviewed hundreds of martial arts film and studied even more, and I think I can speak for many when I say that Larnell Stovall is the fight choreographer you need.

Michael S Moore