Marvel’s Ironheart Returns to Chicago for Next MCU Chapter

Ryan Coogler is having a year. After his latest feature film, Sinners, became the highest-grossing movie in America, the critically acclaimed director has his next on the docket. Marvel has just released the first trailer for Coogler’s next big project: a limited series for the MCU, titled Ironheart.

The series, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will star Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a teenage technology wunderkind who was originally the protégé of Tony Stark in the comics. Ironheart is set to premiere in June 2025 and will be the last series of MCU TV shows in Phase Five.

Marvel originally announced the series in December 2020, initially with a 2023 release date in mind. In the years since, however, the studio reworked its long-term release schedule and eventually announced it would produce less content each year. The move was partially to avoid market saturation, with the delay moving the premiere date to this summer. Footage first shown at the 2024 D23 convention has described the series as “a crime show with an Iron Man twist at the center”, which may hint at a grittier and more grounded direction than other MCU series have taken.

Ironheart features the character of Riri Williams, who was introduced in the previous MCU film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, released in 2022. During that film, Riri was drafted into conflict with Namor and his blue-skinned undersea army when she created a vibranium detector during her time at MIT. Riri is subsequently accepted into Shuri’s circle as a fellow scientist and eventually creates an iron battle suit inspired by Iron Man to aid Wakanda’s war effort. Before returning to MIT at the film’s end, she has to be forcibly separated from the suit by Wakandans to prevent future conflict.

Blending Magic with Machine

Ironheart will center on the recently graduated Riri and her new life outside of MIT. The official synopsis reveals the setup: “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).”

Coogler has assembled a strong cast for the series, which includes Lyric Ross as Natalie Washington (Riri’s best friend), Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy, Manny Montana as Cousin John, Matthew Elam as Xavier Washington, and Anji White as Riri’s mother, Ronnie. Shea Couleé will also appear as Slug. The returning cast will feature Jim Rash as the dean of MIT, reprising his role from 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sacha Baron Cohen also has a part in the series, though his character has not been revealed yet.

The new trailer quickly establishes the premise. It begins with Riri entering a pizza restaurant that has since been abandoned, and after placing her coat in a box, she is unable to leave. She is locked in an elevator with two minutes before an exhaust pipe empties a room full of poison. It is an experiment—although, according to the person who set it up, an “interview”—designed by The Hood. An intercom from the floor above tells Riri she will suffocate in two minutes if she does not break into the machine on the floor below and find the gas mask hidden inside. Riri refuses to comply, instead using her means of escape.

Impressed by her resilience and cleverness, The Hood offers her a chance to join his team and work on his undefined projects. Eager to make something truly “iconic” and prove herself, Riri almost says yes, but she is pulled back from the ledge by her friends, most vocally Natalie. Natalie is concerned about the moral and legal implications of her involvement with The Hood, which may have been ill-advised even before The Hood reassures Riri that anyone who has ever “accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done.”

Ironheart may well deal with the question of making the hard decisions when necessary—and if that is the case, Coogler and Thorne’s Ironheart have some work to do convincing viewers that Riri is ready.

Marvel has confirmed that the first three episodes of the series will premiere on Disney+ on June 24, 2025. Each episode will release every week, with a second season of the series not yet confirmed, but not entirely ruled out. In the meantime, fans of the series have the official trailer, as well as a featurette on the making of the trailer.