2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did the usual Marvel thing and laid some ground for future projects that had been announced. Other than the sequel establishing Shuri as the new Black Panther, the Ryan Coogler film also introduced a college student who would be taking up the mantle of Tony Stark with her own brand of Iron armor. “Ironheart is such a great character in publishing,” said Coogler. “In 2016, Brian Michael Bendis created a character who would be a successor of sorts to the Iron Man legacy. In the comic book, Riri Williams and Tony Stark had a relationship—she was a student at MIT who came from an almost polar opposite background as Tony, but they came together in their passion to better society. Eventually, the character gets her own identity as Ironheart, and other writers like Eve Ewing picked up from there, taking Riri Williams to Chicago.”
The new MCU series is set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri—determined to make her mark on the world—returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos).The series also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White. Chinaka Hodge is head writer; episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes. Executive producers include Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Zoie Nagelhout, Chinaka Hodge, Ryan Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. Music is by Dara Taylor. Produced in association with Proximity Media, Ironheart launches on Disney+ June 24, 2025.
Star Dominique Thorne reveals she spoke with Robert Downey Jr. about their “iron” heroes and Iron Man Downey is rooting for her Ironheart. Thorne told Empire, “Robert Downey Jr. and I spoke just after we wrapped, and he shared some very lovely words about my journey. He told me how excited he was and that he’s rooting for it, too. I literally got two thumbs up. It’s really reassuring to know you’re not embarrassing Iron Man.” She went on to say that, while Riri is “dumpster-diving, whereas Tony Stark [was] this bajillionaire … what she’s able to accomplish is remarkable.“
