Marvel Studio's 'Ironheart': Everything We Know So Far

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is expanding now to include more characters like the Fantastic Four, mutants, and now Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) as Ironheart. While she was initially set to appear in Armor Wars along with James Rhodes aka War Machine, her appearance was moved up to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which came out on November 11, 2022. The Black Panther film gave us a mere introduction to the character but Ironheart will definitely establish her character as a full-fledged superhero in her very own show.

What is the plot of Ironheart?

While there isn’t a trailer out yet for Ironheart, it is teased that Anthony Ramos has joined the cast as the villain, The Hood. Additionally, there is much comic lore that could explore her backstory like how she was essentially an introvert her whole life before overcoming challenges with communication using her intelligence and eventually joining MIT before she even became a teenager.

However, not all her dreams came true as her step-father and her best friend Natalie die in a drive-by shooting. This crime becomes the reason she evolves into a superhero. Let’s not forget that Riri Williams Sr., her biological father who is presumed to be dead actually fakes it and joins the Ten Rings. Since Shang-Chi references have been making appearances in almost every Marvel project at the moment (Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, The Marvels possibly), it is quite expected for the Ten Rings lore to get even more complicated. 

During a recent discussion with ScreenRant, Thorne offered insights into the upcoming Ironheart series, shedding light on the character development and growth of her character since her introduction in Wakanda Forever.

“It’s definitely a question that’s best answered by coming over to the series next year, but I definitely think that a lot of what we see with Riri in particular, in Wakanda Forever, is the beginning of her having to reckon with this ambition of hers and really start to understand what it might mean.

I think that up until that point, and as it’s hinted in the show, she’s moving through MIT. She’s got her own little side business going, making a deal over there until she has a reason to look up quite literally and see these larger worlds that are in front of her that she now has no choice but to face. I think that sort of confrontation of nothing but her own brilliance and her own genius is a very exciting thing in itself. I think that, if folks were intrigued enough by that, they might find satisfaction over at the series next year too.”

Who is in the cast of Ironheart?

As mentioned above, Dominique Thorne will be joining the cast as Riri Williams or Ironheart, while Shea Couleé, Manny Montana, and Alden Ehrenreich will be joining in roles undisclosed at the moment. Anthony Ramos who is known for his successes in Hamilton and In the Heights is set to join the show as The Hood or Parker Robbins. It was also reported that Sacha Baron Cohen will be joining the cast as Mephisto. Apart from them, there hasn’t been any news, pictures, or videos from the set.

Produced by Ryan Coogler and his wife Zizi Coogler, the show will be helmed by directors Samantha Bailey (You're So Talented) and Angela Barnes (Blindspotting). Writing for the six episodes in this season are headed by Chinaka Hodge (Snowpiercer) and Eve Ewing, the sociologist that penned the Ironheart comics and will be debuting her writing in Hollywood with this show. 

When will Ironheart be released?

Ironheart is set to come out on Disney+ in the fall of this year (2023).