‘Ironheart’: Three-Episode Premiere Uncovers Riri Williams’ Link to Iron Man

Every dream has a cost, and for 19-year-old tech prodigy Riri Williams, she’s about to discover the risks involved in chasing hers. In Disney+‘s new miniseries Ironheart, the story of the genius teen from Chi-town continues the hero’s journey established in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, while simultaneously closing out Phase Five of the MCU.

Created by Chinaka Hodge, executive produced by Ryan Coogler, and starring Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, and Alden Ehrenreich, Ironheart is a coming-of-age tale set within a modern monomyth. It’s about inner evolution, a rite of passage, and the growing pains of maturity, complicated by the presence of a metahuman megajerk with morally questionable goals.

The show also delves into the consequences of innovation, the complexities of superhero activism, and the ethical gray areas of power. Plus, it includes a few surprising connections to the original Iron Man that longtime fans will appreciate.

Ironheart doesn’t just wrap up Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it continues the introduction of a new wave of heroes poised to save the world, the galaxy, or in Riri’s case, the city.

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'Ironheart': What You Need to Know Before You Watch

Here’s everything we know so far about Ironheart.

When will Ironheart premiere?

Ironheart premieres on June 24, 2025, at 9/8c with a three-episode debut on Disney+ as part of its six-episode run.

What is Ironheart about?

Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart follows Riri Williams as she returns to her hometown of Chicago after a disastrous turn of events at MIT. Determined to shape her own future, she decides to focus her efforts on building her own Iron Man armor. However, her brilliance doesn’t stay under the radar for long.

As her work and her genius begins to attract attention, Riri is recruited by Parker “The Hood” Robbins’ (Anthony Ramos) crew after escaping a gas-trapped elevator during a test. She joins his ragtag crew of thieves in an effort to earn enough funds to continue her projects. Though charming at first, in a Robin Hood way, he is soon revealed to be far more dangerous with self-serving intentions.

The series will also tackle themes of magic vs. tech, as Riri gets swept up in the world of magic and magic users. Part of the source of The Hood’s powers originate from his cloak, which has mystical properties.

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What do we know about Riri?

On the page, Riri Williams made her debut in 2016 when comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato introduced the young genius in Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #7. In her first appearance, we saw a hardworking Riri at MIT, toiling into the early hours of the morning as she built her own Iron Man armor.

On screen, MCU fans were first introduced to Riri while she was still a student at MIT, hustling pocket money from wealthy classmates in exchange for credit for her work. After she built a vibranium detector for her metallurgy class, she caught the attention of Shuri and General Okoye (Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira). Following a heated exchange about Riri’s current predicament, Okoye gave her a choice: “You can come to Wakanda… conscious or unconscious.”

Is Riri the new Iron Man?

“A lot of people think she’s the successor to the Iron Man legacy, but in the comic book, Riri and Tony [Stark] had a friendship. He was kind of advising her, and eventually, she got her own identity as Ironheart,” said exec producer Ryan Coogler. “It was really exciting for me to bring that character into the MCU in Wakanda Forever.”

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to be delivering these stories that people love so much,” the filmmaker stated.

“The story of Ironheart is not a story of the mantle of Iron Man getting passed. If anything, it’s the opposite,” confirmed exec producer Brad Winderbaum.

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Who stars in Ironheart?

Dominique Thorne continues to portray the tenacious wunderkind from Chicago as Riri returns to her hometown to focus on her personal projects…and herself. However, as she works to improve her Iron Man armor, she finds herself at odds with a new big bad who pits his magic skills against her tech genius.

Stepping into the role of villain Parker Robbins, a.k.a. The Hood, is Anthony Ramos. Like Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, The Hood is a street-level criminal who causes trouble for local citizens rather than on a galactic or global scale. He is a magic user whose abilities and conflicting ideology put him at odds with the tech-driven hero.

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Lyric Ross plays Natalie Washington, or at least the AI of Riri’s best friend and her emotional anchor. The original Natalie was killed in a drive-by shooting, along with Riri’s stepfather. As Riri becomes more involved in her superhero transformation, this version of Natalie keeps her grounded with love, wit, and a constant reminder of who she is and where she is from. More than just comic relief, she represents Riri’s humanity (oh, the irony) and her connection to the community.

Alden Ehrenreich portrays “Joe McGillicuddy,” a seemingly original character created for the Disney+ series. He appears a bit mysterious at first, but he is revealed to be Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane, son of Obadiah Stane, the original Iron Monger from Iron Man, portrayed by Jeff Bridges.

In the series, Riri meets “Joe” in Episode 2, “Will the Real Natalie Please Stand Up?”, and the two bond over their shared love of tech. However, by Episode 3, Riri discovers Obadiah Stane’s ashes in Joe’s apartment and pieces together his true identity: Zeke Stane. Zeke/Joe admits that the story about his father dying in a plane crash was a cover-up. In reality, Obadiah died fighting Iron Man, a fact Zeke is far from proud of.

Anji White plays Ronnie Williams, Riri’s mother. She holds a key role in Riri’s origin story (as most mothers tend to do in superhero narratives), and provides an emotional center for the series.

Other familiar faces in the series include Oscar-winner Jim Rash, who returns to the MCU in the role of Dean Wilkes, the Dean of MIT; Eric André as renegade tech specialist and hacker Stuart Clarke (aka Rampage); and Drag Race winner Shea Couleé as crew member Slug, who becomes the first drag queen to enter the MCU.

Ironheart, three-episode premiere on June 24, Disney+