As promised, the first trailer for Ironheart is here (a good couple of hours before Superman) and the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spin-off looks like it'll take Riri Williams on quite the ride.
After helping Wakanda fend off Namor and the Talokan army, Riri returns home and searches for her purpose. She finds one courtesy of Parker Robbins, though that looks like it could take her down a dark path she may not be able to come back from.
This sneak peek doesn't play up the idea of "magic vs. science" that we've previously heard forms the basis of this series; instead, it's mostly about Riri's continued evolution and her building a new Ironheart suit. There's a hint that she and The Hood will clash, though, and Alden Ehrenreich's mysterious character (thought to be Ezekiel Stane) also makes his presence felt.
Ironheart wrapped shooting at the end of 2022 and has been on the shelf for a while. It's unclear whether that's a result of the show's poor quality or because Marvel Studios has taken the time to perfect the VFX after the backlash to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
With three episodes dropping on June 24 and another three rumoured to be released the following week, it does somewhat feel like Marvel Studios is looking to get Ironheart over and done with, similar to Echo.
Remember, this series was produced during that "quantity over quality" phase, and Riri didn't strike a chord in the Black Panther sequel without the connections to Iron Man that benefited her in the comics.
We'll see, but the show looks decent and is rumoured to feature the return of Dormammu or possibly even Mephisto's MCU debut.
"Ironheart is such a great character in publishing," executive producer Ryan Coogler said in a press release today. "In 2016, Brian Michael Bendis created a character who would be a successor of sorts to the Iron Man legacy."
"In the comic book, Riri Williams and Tony Stark had a relationship—she was a student at MIT who came from an almost polar opposite background as Tony, but they came together in their passion to better society. Eventually, the character gets her own identity as Ironheart, and other writers like Eve Ewing picked up from there, taking Riri Williams to Chicago," he added.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Television’s Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) - a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world - returns to her hometown of Chicago.
Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka "The Hood" (Anthony Ramos).
The series also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White. Chinaka Hodge is head writer and executive producer; episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes.
Ironheart premieres on Disney+ on June 24, 2025.