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Ironheart Set for 2025; D23 Footage Includes The Hood & More (VIDEO)

During Disney's D23, EP Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios shared a look at Dominique Thorne-starring Ironheart - still on tap to debut in 2025.

It's been a long road to get here, but Disney's D23 fan expo brought some big news for MCU fans who've been awaiting the premiere of Marvel Studios & Disney+'s Dominique Thorne (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)-starring Ironheart. First up, it was confirmed that the series would be hitting streaming screens next year – but no date was given yet. But EP Ryan Coogler, Thorne, Anthony Ramos, and other members of the cast didn't hit D23 empty-handed, with new footage screened for those in attendance (but not released). After recapping Riri Williams' (Thorne) role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we see that academic life at MIT and her commitment to her next project don't mesh well. After being expelled, Williams seeks a new source of funding for that "something undeniable" she envisions. That leads her to Ramos' Parker Robbins, aka The Hood – and that's how the growing battle between Robbins' dark arts and Williams' science begins (Robbins: "Anyone who's ever accomplished anything in life had to do some questionable things to get it done"). But in case you're wondering, you can relax because there was more its fair share of supersuit action.

Here's a look at what Coogler had to share during the presentation earlier tonight:

Dominique Thorne on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Ironheart Connections & More

Speaking with Variety in support of the film back in 2022, Thorne discussed what it was like putting on the 52.5-pound Ironheart suit for the first time and what viewers can learn about Riri from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ahead of the spinoff streaming series:

Putting On the Ironheart Armor for the First Time: "Ah, man, it was pretty cool, I'm not going to lie. It was pretty otherworldly to feel the weight of it. That was the quickest entry point into Riri Williams because, of course, I know that she's an engineer, she's a mechanic, I know she is a gearhead. She's into building things with their hands — very much from scratch — to form what's in her mind. Unlike some of the other suits that may be added in later with visual effects, the Mark I was all practical. To get to feel the weight of that on my body and just understand how it moves — you almost want to say it's clunky, but when you have it on, you realize, 'Oh, this is actually such a smart build, like all my joints are free so I have so much movement. But also, this is heavy as hell. And it flies? Whoa!' The doors open wide into Riri's mind and how she thinks; what she saw was possible and then actualized.

"Wakanda Forever" Offers Viewers an Introduction to Riri Williams… But There's More to Learn: "The film does such a good job of showcasing one sliver, one side of who she is. We get a little taste of the colors that exist within her — we see her as a hustler; we see her as a little bit of a bully; we see her fearful; we see her in all these different lights. But primarily, she is in a world of confusion. 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 [mode]. 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 [between the kingdoms of Wakanda and Talokan] 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.

Joining Thorne & Anthony Ramos (The Heights) in Ironheart are Lyric Ross (This Is Us), Manny Montana (Good Girls), Zoe Terakes (Nine Perfect Strangers), Regan Aliyah (XO, Kitty), and Shakira Barrera (Sprung, GLOW), along with Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), who's reportedly been cast in a key role. RuPaul's Drag Race winner Shea Couleé has also joined the cast in an undisclosed role, along with Cree Summer (What We Do in the Shadows) and Paul Calderón (Bosch). In June 2023, reports were that Anji White (Fargo, The Chi) had joined the cast as a series regular – possibly in the role of Riri Williams' (Thorne) mother, Ronnie. Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Mythic Quest, Atlanta) have been tapped to direct the streaming series. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato and debuting in 2016's Invincible Iron Man No. #7, Riri Williams (Thorne) is a teenage genius who made a major first impression by building her own version of Tony Stark's Iron Man suit- and would eventually go on to lead her own comic book series.

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