Marvel Gives Fans First Glimpse of Ironheart Series

Ryan Coogler had a good run in 2024. The director’s most recent film, Sinners, made waves at the box office this month. But the filmmaker is already onto a new project that’ll find him returning to Marvel and the cinematic universe it’s helped build over the last two decades. Ironheart, the studio’s upcoming limited series, has its first official trailer.

Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart. She’s a high schooler and tech prodigy whose skills as an engineer landed her a place as Tony Stark’s protégé in the comics. The series, which is also based in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will premiere on Disney+ in June 2025 and includes a total of six episodes. This is the last MCU television show to be included in Phase Five.

Ironheart was announced back in December 2020, at which time a 2023 release date was attached to the project. But in 2023, Marvel announced an updated approach to their long-term planning, reducing the volume of content they will produce every year. While this was primarily a response to fears of oversaturation in the market, the delay also pushed the new series’ premiere to this summer. Footage first debuted at the D23 convention in 2024, which described the show as “a crime show with an Iron Man twist at the center.” The first look established the project’s more grounded and darker take compared to other series in the MCU.

Riri Williams previously appeared in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the movie, Riri, an MIT student, inadvertently gets caught up in a war with Namor and his blue-skinned people after creating a vibranium detector. She and Shuri, who bond over their shared love of science, both build iron suits inspired by Iron Man to help the Wakandans fight back. At the end of the film, Riri is forced to abandon the suit with the Wakandans, who need it for their defense, and return to MIT.

A Tale of Technology Versus Magic

The upcoming series Ironheart will follow Riri not long after the events of Wakanda Forever. The official summary says, “Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri—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 cast also includes Lyric Ross as Riri’s best friend Natalie Washington; Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy; Manny Montana as Cousin John; Matthew Elam as Xavier Washington; and Anji White as Riri’s mom, Ronnie. Shea Couleé will be playing Slug. Jim Rash also returns to the MCU as the dean of MIT, a role he first took on in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sacha Baron Cohen is also on board, but Marvel has yet to release any details regarding his character.

The trailer doesn’t waste any time getting into the thick of it. The first scenes of the new trailer find Riri at a shuttered pizza joint. After climbing through the window, she finds herself inside an elevator, with a brick wall of poison being pushed into the lift by a mechanism. She only has two minutes before she suffocates. The problem, she learns, is an “interview” set up by the mysterious The Hood (Anthony Ramos). He explains to her over an intercom that the only way to stop the wall is to break into the device on the floor and use the gas mask inside.

However, Riri won’t go along with the test or interview and finds her creative way out of the room. Hood is suitably impressed and invites her to join him on an unspecified, illegal endeavor. He specifically wants her to be his Ironheart. Riri, eager to put her skills to the test and create something “iconic,” initially hesitates, but eventually says yes. Her friends and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) aren’t thrilled, however, and try to warn her off from The Hood. The Hood is, by all accounts, mysterious and perhaps dangerous, so they may be right to be cautious. Riri will have to figure out just what she’s gotten into when she finds out that “Anyone who has ever accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done,” from The Hood.

It’s safe to say that Ironheart is going to touch on the theme of the sacrifices one has to make to reach the top—and the way these compromises can have a way of chasing you. For Riri Williams, a young and driven genius, just how far is she willing to go—and what happens when her past and present come back to haunt her?

Marvel has said that the first three episodes will be available on Disney+ starting June 24, 2025, with new episodes to drop every week. While no information about a second season has been confirmed, that is still a possibility if the show is successful. In the meantime, fans can check out the full trailer, as well as a newly released behind-the-scenes featurette.