Ironheart Actors Hint at Bringing the MCU to Chicago

The Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon expand with “Ironheart,” a new Disney+ exclusive series spotlighting Riri Williams, also known as Ironheart, portrayed by Dominique Thorne. This character, who made her debut in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” embarks on her own adventures in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The latest footage from the show was screened at the 2024 D23 Expo, offering glimpses into Riri’s life as a superheroine and a young adult.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Thorne, along with Anthony Ramos, who plays Parker Robbins/The Hood, discussed the important role Chicago plays in the series. Thorne shared, “It’s an invitation to explore her roots and her upbringing. We’re taking it back to her hometown of Chicago, and a bit of a battle ensues as she’s debating between or considering how she wants to use what she realizes is a powerful wealth of knowledge, realizing just how much genius she has in her, deciding what she’s going to do with that. We see that play out in the environment when she gets back home as well — she has these options. Who and how am I going to use these things that I now know about myself?”

Ramos added, “Parker Robbins in the comics is from New York, but being able to flip his story and making him from Chicago, we made him from Humboldt Park, which has, obviously, a large Puerto Rican population. We created this whole backstory with his mom being from the Young Lords and raising him that way. Chicago plays a huge part in the identity of all of our characters and the identity of this show, so I’m really excited for people to experience that. It was just a gift to be able to shoot there. It’s an amazing city, one of the greatest cities in the world.”

“Ironheart” stars Thorne as Riri Williams, a genius inventor who designs the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. The cast also includes Lyric Ross, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Alden Ehrenreich, Manny Montana, Shakira Barrera, and Harper Anthony in currently undisclosed roles.

The “Ironheart” series was first confirmed during Disney’s Investor Day presentation in 2020. Chinaka Hodge, known for her work on “Snowpiercer,” serves as the series’ head writer. Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes take on directing duties, with Ryan Coogler’s Proximity company among the producers. Executive producers for the series include Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout, alongside Coogler, Hodge, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian.

“Ironheart” is slated to debut on Disney+ in 2025.

Source: Entertainment Weekly