Ironheart (miniseries)

Ironheart is an upcoming American television miniseries created by Chinaka Hodge for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is intended to be one of the television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, via its Marvel Television label, alongside Proximity Media sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Hodge serves as head writer.

Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams / Ironheart from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), starring alongside Anthony Ramos, Alden Ehrenreich, Lyric Ross, Matthew Elam, Anji White, Manny Montana, and Shea Couleé. The series was announced in December 2020, along with Thorne's casting. Hodge was hired in April 2021, with additional castings revealed in February 2022. Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes joined to direct in April 2022. Filming began at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia by early June, before moving to Chicago in late October, and concluded by early November.

Ironheart is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2025, and will consist of six episodes. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Premise
Upon returning home to Chicago, MIT student Riri Williams discovers dangerous "threads that bring danger and adventure".

Cast and characters
An ally of Riri's who dons a hood that allows him to tap into dark arts and magic. Ramos said Robbins was complex and a misfit who "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".
 * Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart: An MIT student and genius inventor from Chicago who created a suit of armor that rivals the one built by Tony Stark / Iron Man.
 * Anthony Ramos as Parker Robbins / The Hood:
 * Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy
 * Lyric Ross as Natalie Washington: Williams's best friend.
 * Matthew Elam as Xavier Washington
 * Anji White as Ronnie Williams: Riri's mother.


 * Manny Montana as Cousin John
 * Shea Couleé as Slug

Additionally, Jim Rash reprises his role as the Dean of MIT from Captain America: Civil War (2016). Harper Anthony, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Shakira Barrera, Rashida "Sheedz" Olayiwola, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderón, Cree Summer, and Sacha Baron Cohen have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Episodes
The series will consist of six episodes, with Sam Bailey directing the first three and Angela Barnes directing the last three.

Development
A film based on the Marvel Comics character Riri Williams / Ironheart had a script written by Jada Rodriguez by July 2018, when it was listed on The Black List, although this did not materialize. In December 2020, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the Disney+ television series Ironheart. In April 2021, Chinaka Hodge was hired to serve as head writer of the series. In March 2022, series actor Anthony Ramos revealed that Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther (2018) and its sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), was involved in the production; star Dominique Thorne first appears as Riri Williams / Ironheart in Wakanda Forever, and Coogler's production company Proximity Media was set to work alongside Marvel Studios on select Disney+ series as part of a television deal with Walt Disney Television. In April, Coogler's Proximity Media was confirmed to be producing the series, when Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes joined to each direct three episodes of the series. Ironheart will consist of six episodes. Executive producers on the series include Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout, Proximity Media's Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian, and Hodge. It is being released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.

Writing
Francesca J. Gailes, Jacqueline Gailes, Malarie Howard, Amir K. Sulaiman, and Cristian Martinez serve as writers for the series, with the Gailes both previously writing on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). The writers' room for the series was set to begin in May 2021. Feige felt the conflict between Williams's technology and the magic of Parker Robbins / The Hood made the series unique within the MCU. Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore described the series as a direct sequel to Wakanda Forever by exploring "interesting repercussions" of Williams's experiences in that film when she returns to her home.

Casting
Dominique Thorne was revealed to have been cast as Riri Williams / Ironheart with the series' announcement, after Marvel Studios offered her the role without auditioning; Thorne had previously auditioned for Black Panther (2018) and was told then by Marvel Studios that they wanted to work with her on a future project after she had more experience. In February 2022, Anthony Ramos joined the series as Parker Robbins / The Hood, described as a "key role" and the series' main villain. Deadline Hollywood reported that his role would expand to other MCU projects, similar to how Jonathan Majors appeared as He Who Remains in the first season of Loki (2021) ahead of his appearance as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Later that month, Lyric Ross was cast as Williams's best friend. Newcomer Harper Anthony joined the cast in an undisclosed role by April, followed by Manny Montana in June. A month later, Alden Ehrenreich joined the cast in a "key role".

From August to October 2022, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Shakira Barrera, Rashida "Sheedz" Olayiwola, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderón, and Cree Summer joined the cast in undisclosed roles. At the D23 Expo in September, Jim Rash was revealed to be reprising his role as the Dean of MIT from Captain America: Civil War (2016). The following month, Deadline Hollywood reported that Sacha Baron Cohen had joined the MCU, in a role that would see him potentially first appear in the later episodes of Ironheart followed by appearances in other MCU projects. His role was likely to be the character Mephisto, which would be portrayed by Baron Cohen in-person as well as through CGI. In June 2023, Anji White was revealed as a series regular, believed to be portraying Williams' mother Ronnie. A United States Copyright Office filing revealed in October 2023 for the series revealed that Ehrenreich was playing Joe McGillicuddy, Ross playing Natalie Washington, Matthew Elam playing Xavier Washington, White playing Ronnie Williams, Montana playing Cousin John, and Couleé playing Slug, while Cohen would appear in the series.

Design
Andrew Menzies serves as the production designer for the series.

Filming
Filming for the series occurred in Chicago in late May 2022, to capture plate shots and exterior establishing shots. Principal photography had begun by June 2, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, under the working title Wise Guy,  with Bailey and Barnes directing. Alison Kelly and Ante Cheng serve as cinematographers. Filming occurred in September on Edgewood Avenue in Sweet Auburn, Atlanta, at a building constructed to stand in for a White Castle in Chicago. Filming was scheduled to move to Chicago by October 24, 2022, to run through November 3, in South Side, Near North Side, and Downtown Chicago. Filming had wrapped by early November 2022. In late January 2024, Thorne said that filming had concluded, though additional photography was reported to occur from February to April 2024.

Post-production
Winderbaum confirmed that the series was being edited by March 2024. Cedric Nairn-Smith and Shannon Baker Davis serve as editors, with Nairn-Smith previously working on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight (2022).

Marketing
Footage from the series was shown at the 2022 D23 Expo. Thorne and Ramos promoted the series at Disney's May 2024 upfront presentation, where the release year was announced.

Release
Ironheart will be released on Disney+ in 2025, and will consist of six episodes. A filing for the first episode with the United States Copyright Office indicates an approximate release on September 3, 2025. It was originally scheduled to debut in late 2023, however, by February 2023, the series was unlikely to premiere that year as Disney and Marvel Studios were re-evaluating their content output. In May 2023, it was reported to be releasing in 2024, but was removed from Marvel Studios' release schedule in September 2023, with the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes affecting the series' ability to be completed. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.