Marvel fans haven’t seen the last of RiRi Williams. The brilliant 19-year-old MIT student played by Dominique Thorne in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is returning for her own Disney+ series, titled Ironheart. The show was announced in December 2020 with Dominique’s casting. But now that fans have seen RiRi in action in the Black Panther sequel, they’re even more pumped up for the upcoming show.
Ironheart will be part of Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the release date, to the cast, here’s everything we know so far about the show.
Ironheart Release Date
There’s no official release date yet for Ironheart. Marvel confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that the series is set to debut in Fall 2023, but that’s always subject to change. The show will consist of six episodes and stream on Disney+. Filming took place in Chicago and Atlanta from May 2022 to November 2022.
Ironheart Cast & Crew
Cast
Dominique Thorne, 25, stars in Ironheart as RiRi Williams. She made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where RiRi is kidnapped by Namor who wants to protect his underwater nation from a vibranium detection machine that RiRi built at MIT. RiRi is rescued by the Wakandans and helps them defeat Namor.
Hamilton star Anthony Ramos, 31, is playing Parker Robbins/The Hood. Anthony talked about his character at D23 Expo, where his casting was revealed. “He wants to take in other misfits and show the world that you looked at us as outcasts but we’re going to end up on top,” he said, according to The Wrap. “Parker is…a deep dive in a dark place. But on the inside Parker believes that he’s doing good and Parker has a love for his crew and a love for his people.”
Jim Rash is reprising his role as the Dean of MIT from Captain America: Civil War. This Is Us star Lyric Ross is playing RiRi’s best friend Natalie. Additional cast members include Solo: A Star Wars Story star Alden Ehrenreich, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Shea Coulee, GLOW star Shakira Barrera, Harper Anthony, Manny Montana, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Rashida Olayiowla, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderon, and Cree Summer. None of their roles have been disclosed.
Crew
Chinaka Hodge is the creator and head writer of Ironheart, marking her first project for Marvel. She’s written for the shows The Midnight Club and Snowpiercer. Sam Bailey is directing the first three episodes of the show, while Angela Barnes will direct the last three, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler are among the producing team. Marvel Studios, 20th Television, and Proximity Media are producing Ironheart.
What Will Ironheart Be About?
Marvel released a brief description about Ironheart at D23. “Dominique Thorne returns as Riri Williams, a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world. Her unique take on building iron suits is both brilliant and flawed, and Ironheart delves into the dynamics of tech versus magic.” Marvel also unveiled a short teaser of Ironheart at D23. According to Variety, the teaser showed RiRi telling Jim Rash, “What I’m doing. It’s important. It’s iconic.” The teaser also reportedly shows The Hood paying RiRi to steal materials from the MIT lab.
Dominique previously told Variety that fans will see much more of RiRi’s personality and backstory in Ironheart.
“This is her outside of her element, in the very opposite of her comfort zone, so the Riri that we see, it’s a bit of fight or flight,” the actress explained. “That’s such a great place for the audience to be because by the time that they get to Ironheart, they are in for the chance to sink into who she is truly, without the war of the worlds in the background. We get to see who she is day-to-day, but also get a bit more of an understanding of the genius that got her into this situation in the first place.”