Ryan Coogler’s Sinners Success Sets Stage for Marvel’s Ironheart

Ryan Coogler has had a great year so far and is only getting started. He’s coming off the theatrical release of his newest film, Sinners, and he has a big project coming in the not-so-distant future. Coogler will be helming Marvel’s limited series Ironheart, and the studio just dropped a stylish new trailer in advance of the show’s summer 2025 premiere.

Marvel’s Ironheart will be a six-episode series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, a teenage technological genius who, in the comics, is a protégé of Tony Stark. This series will be the final live-action television series in Phase Five of the MCU.

Ironheart was originally announced in December 2020, with a premiere planned for 2023. However, Marvel later recalibrated its long-term plans for the MCU, reducing the overall number of properties released in a given year. The decision came in part out of concern for over-saturation in the market, and that delay has led to the title moving to this summer. Clips of the series, presented as a look into production, were first unveiled at the 2024 D23 convention. Then, the footage was described as “a crime show with an Iron Man twist at the center.” It will likely be somewhat darker in tone than many other MCU series.

Riri Williams first appeared in a movie in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In that film, Riri was caught in a conflict with Namor and his blue-skinned army after creating a vibranium detector while at MIT. Throughout the film, Riri and Shuri grow closer over their mutual love of science, and she eventually creates a variation on Iron Man’s armored suit so that Wakanda might better defend itself. By the end of the film, Riri had to abandon the suit with the Wakandans before returning to MIT.

A Tale of Tech Meets the Hood

Ironheart begins not long after the events of Wakanda Forever. The official description for the series states: “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 is rounded out by a number of other characters. Lyric Ross will play Riri’s best friend, Natalie Washington; Alden Ehrenreich will play Joe McGillicuddy; Manny Montana will be Cousin John; Matthew Elam will be Xavier Washington; and Anji White will appear as Riri’s mother, Ronnie. She also joins the cast as Slug, played by Shea Couleé. Also making a return to the MCU is Jim Rash as the dean of MIT. Rash previously appeared in the role in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sacha Baron Cohen is also set to appear, though Marvel has revealed nothing about his role.

In the brief trailer, the story is set up fairly quickly. It begins with Riri walking into a closed-down pizza restaurant, but before she can get out, the elevator doors shut on her, and she is trapped with only two minutes to escape before the elevator becomes full of poison gas. The whole scenario is revealed to be a test—or, as the man behind it prefers, an “interview”—created by The Hood. The Hood makes Riri’s escape very clear to her through the intercom, saying that she will die unless she breaks into the mounted device on the floor, which contains a gas mask. Riri, however, refuses to play his game and instead finds her own rather creative solution.

Impressed by her tenacity and creativity, The Hood then offers to let her in on a criminal venture of his—something that will not be legal, of course. Riri is tempted and, feeling like she could build something “iconic,” almost immediately agrees. Her friends quickly express their worries about it, especially Natalie, who points out that the Hood is a criminal. However, the Hood may have a point. In a later moment, The Hood tells Riri, “Anyone who has ever accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done.”

The series is promising to center on this character, and she’s also very talented at building her tech. In that sense, it will be interesting to see just how questionable she can get and how far she’s willing to go for her cause. Fans are also left to wonder what The Hood is getting her into, and the consequences for all of them.

Marvel has confirmed that the first three episodes of Ironheart will release on Disney+ on June 24, 2025. The other three episodes will be released every week. At this time, a second season has not been announced or hinted at, but the door remains open. For now, fans can check out the trailer and new behind-the-scenes featurette in advance.