We haven't seen Dominque Thorne's Riri Williams since 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the same year Disney+'s Ironheart TV series wrapped production.
There could be any number of reasons for the lengthy delay, including potential story issues and Disney's new quality-over-quantity approach to Marvel Studios content on streaming. Either way, we expect Ironheart to be a major player in the MCU moving forward.
Talking a D23 this weekend, Thorne was asked if she's eager to see Riri square off with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom (seeing as the actor was the MCU's original Iron Man before being cast in a far more villainous role).
"I mean, who wouldn't, right?" she asked. "I think that's again one of the great things about the MCU is that right when you think, 'Oh, we've seen it all,' there is indeed more. And not only is there more, but it's more with so much depth to it."
"And so I know everybody, like, we're all already beside ourselves thinking about what that even looks like. And so, of course, I mean, I think we probably all do," Thorne teased.
Anthony Ramos, who plays The Hood, also chimed in to share his hope that Parker Robbins will "team up with Doctor Doom. Just want to team up. We can be teammates, partners." As for Alden Ehrenreich, who is credited as "Joe McGillicuddy" in Ironheart but likely playing Zeke Stane, he suggested The Hood and Doom could "go hood shopping together."
One of the most exciting things about Downey suiting up as Doom will be seeing which characters he shares the screen with. Whether it's Pedro Pascal's Mister Fantastic, Tom Holland's Spider-Man, or perhaps another Iron Man Variant, there are tons of thrilling possibilities.
You can watch the full interview with the Ironheart cast below.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 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, 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+ next year.