Ironheart: Cast, Story & Everything We Know About The MCU Disney+ Show (2024)

The MCU Ironheart series on Disney+ is one of the most exciting upcoming projects from Marvel Studios, and there are plenty of new details emerging about the Iron Man legacy hero's solo show. After making her debut in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast, Dominique Thorne will reprise her role as Riri Williams in her own Disney+ series as part of the MCU. While much of the show is being kept under wraps, there have still been news and updates for the MCU Ironheart show from the cast to story details, and the pace Ironheart news arrives will only pick up as the release window draws closer.

Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Riri Williams debuted in the 2016 comic Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7. The teenage genius eventually creates her own Ironheart suit. Riri receives official sponsorship from Tony Stark himself, which establishes her as the superhero Ironheart. From there, she teams up with the Champions before going solo and developing a new aerodynamic suit. The MCU series Ironheart can't be entirely faithful to the comics - however, the original Marvel storyline lays the groundwork for Riri to become a great hero in her own right and fans are thrilled to see what she will do when she takes the spotlight in the MCU timeline.

Ironheart Latest News

The latest news from the MCU Ironheart series is that of the Ironheart footage shown in August 2024 at the Marvel section of the Entertainment Showcase panel for D23. The footage followed up on the preview provided from the May 2024 Disney Upfront event, showing Riri's life after audiences last saw her in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and her parting ways with MIT. This preview also provided a look at Ironheart's newest suit, which looks quite different to the high-tech vibranium suit she last got to build on-screen.

Other than that, the biggest recent news for the show is that of its newest release announcement, which will see the show debut in 2025. Ironheart is one of two shows to be set for MCU's 2025 roster - with Daredevil: Born Again also being announced for 2025 - and the news comes after reports that previously suggested that Ironheart might be among some of the MCU Disney+ shows that have been delayed until 2024.

Ironheart Is Confirmed

The MCU Ironheart series was first announced in December 2020 by Kevin Feige after plenty of fans demanded that Riri Williams be brought into the MCU. Along with the announcement of the series, it was confirmed that the lead role had already been cast with Dominique Thorne taking on the role of Riri Williams. Chinaka Hodge was announced as the show's head writer in April 2021.

Ironheart Release Info

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Ironheart is set to be part of MCU's Phase 5, with a May 2024 announcement revealing the show is set to be unveiled in 2025. This places Ironheart after Agatha All Along and Deadpool & Wolverine, but in the same year as Daredevil: Born Again, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Thunderbolts*.

While this means the Ironheart show will have been on the sidelines for some time before it releases, the reconfigurations that have happened regarding MCU's shows during this time suggest this may benefit the show, as focus has been placed on making sure the Disney+ releases are handled just right. Given Ironheart is in many ways continuing the legacy of Iron Man, it makes sense for a longer overall creation process to be needed, as her arc plays such a key part in the future of the franchise and many of its biggest overarching stories.

Similarly, placing Ironheart closer to the release of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could also help if she becomes part of the team's prospective roster, by making sure that relatively little time in the big scheme of the schedule exists between the releases. With Robert Downey Jr. set to come back as Doctor Doom for the MCU, ensuring the figures who continue Iron Man's own legacy feature prominently close before this debut will no doubt be helpful in making sure that whatever approach the MCU takes with explaining Downey Jr's return works cohesively.

The series was initially announced for release in 2023 with a six-episode season at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 - and in November 2022, Dominique Thorne revealed to Comicbook.com that they had finished shooting for the show, giving an insight into where in the production process the series is.

This would match the delayed trajectory of the rest of MCU's announced releases, as The Marvels, Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and Blade were all also moved from prior projected release dates - with Blade most notably having an arduous production process that took it from an original 2023 release date, to one in 2025.

Ironheart Cast

The MCU Ironheart show will be led by Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams. Thorne was officially cast as the Ironheart lead in December 2020 and in August 2021 it was reported that Riri Williams debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before starring in her own installment. She leads an impressive supporting cast of actors new to the MCU. Anthony Ramos has been confirmed to be playing villain Parker Robbins, a.k.a. The Hood. Other supporting cast includes Myric Ross, Manny Montana, Paul Calderon, and Cree Summer.

Alden Ehrenreich was cast in a key role that has yet to be disclosed. However, in a recent interview (via Uproxx), when asked if he would be playing a character that fans knew, Ehrenreich answered, "I can't quite say that, but kind of." Finally, after endless theories of Mephisto making his MCU debut that went nowhere, it has been reported that Sacha Baron Cohen will play the Marvel villain in Ironheart before appearing in other MCU projects (via DigitalSpy).

Ironheart Teaser Trailer Details

While Ironheart doesn't currently have a trailer available for the general public, Ironheart footage was revealed to audiences at the 2024 Entertainment Showcase panel at D23 in August. This provides the most recent look at the series and what its story entails.

The footage shows that Riri begins working alongside Marvel villain The Hood in order to obtain the resources to make her next suit, following her expulsion from MIT. It's already been noted that this part of the Riri's plot appears intended to give her overall arc a parallel to Tony Stark's own, with the character working with shady figures in order to make her next suit in much the same way that Stark initially provided his tech know how for warmongering, not the Iron Man suit itself.

As such, this preview appears to suggest that Ironheart may show the character's own redemption of sorts, likely seeing her turn against The Hood in order to right any wrongs and begin as a hero in her own right. Riri's hero story will see her complete with her own new suit, with the D23 footage showing a notable white suit is in store for the character's future, building on the Mark XXXIX white suit audiences got a brief glimpse at before its destruction in Iron Man 3.

Before this, teaser footage was revealed to audiences at the May 2024 Disney Upfront event alongside footage for Daredevil: Born Again and Agatha All Along. Though reports of the footage suggest it is brief, they apparently show Riri struggling to make a new suit of armor, and obtaining parts from the MIT campus, only for this to lead to her expulsion from the university. However, this is followed with shots of the Ironheart armor, suggesting this is the origin story of her newest armor.

This would make sense in terms of ensuring Riri struggles with her superhero origin story considerably, by removing the institution that has assisted in her being able to hone her technological prowess and indeed even turning the organization against her to some degree. However, splitting with MIT could be an exciting prospect for the young hero, as she's able to either take her own path entirely, or look at ways to reobtain her place at the university itself. Either way, this allows the story to underline that Riri is a hero in her own right by letting her step out on her own, even if there may be caveats to how and why this is the case.

It's also worth noting this has parallels with Ironheart's Marvel comics story, wherein Riri Williams is also kicked out of university due to her efforts to create her suit involving using equipment not belonging to her, suggesting the MCU is adapting this storyline going forward. Effectively adapting Riri's origin story of sorts in her second MCU appearance may be unconventional, but it'd also be a good way to ground her story, and ensure audiences can see her conviction to make her suit and become a Marvel hero in close detail.

Ironheart Story

There currently haven't been many details yet about the story of the MCU Ironheart series, with the official Disney summary for the show simply stating, "Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man." However, there are already hints as to where the show will go.

Thanks to Riri's appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fans now know that she is already established as having built and operated her own Ironheart suit. That suggests the series will be about Riri coming into her own as a hero rather than being a straight origin story like Iron Man. While Riri is given a vibranium suit by Shuri in the final battle, she has to return it at the end of the show, ensuring that she will be building her next suit from scraps, like her previous one.

The preview footage from D23 and Disney Upfront suggest that the story will follow Riri struggling with her unquenchable desire to make a suit on par with the one she produced in Wakanda Forever, resulting in her being kicked out of MIT and turning to less above-board methods to obtain the tech she needs - which seemingly includes working with Parker Robbins, aka The Hood. This is a good way to tie the story of the show's hero and villain together if Anthony Ramos' MCU character is indeed the main antagonist of the show, as it's clear at some point in the story their ethics align, even if Robbins is more magic-centered than focused on technological advancements himself.

There are also possibilities for Ironheart to connect to other MCU projects. Given Riri's connection to Wakanda, it is possible Shuri or some of those characters could appear alongside her. The upcoming MCU Armor Wars movie also seems like it could connect to Ironheart as it finds James "Rhodey" Rhodes dealing with people stealing Stark tech which could lead him to meet Riri.

However, it's also possible that Ironheart will see Riri enter the path of some other major MCU characters, MJ and Ned will also be studying at MIT after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Having Williams interact with them would allow future MCU installments to build upon this foundation, setting up for Iron Man's two young superhero successors - Riri Williams and Peter Parker - to potentially cross paths. Since MJ and Ned currently don't remember who Peter is, bringing them into contact with Riri would be a great way to set this in motion without a chance meeting feeling too contrived, since Spider-Man may still be looking out for the duo, even if they've forgotten their connection to him.

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