Marvel Unveils Trailer for Ironheart, Starring Dominique Thorne

Ryan Coogler’s massively successful year in film appears to be far from over. Just days after his latest movie, Sinners, blew away box office expectations, the Oscar-nominated director is already at work on his next big project: Marvel’s limited series Ironheart. The studio has today released an official new trailer for the show, which will drop on Disney+ in June 2025.

In the MCU series, Dominique Thorne will play Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, a teenage engineering genius who serves as Tony Stark’s successor in the original comics. The series, which will consist of six episodes, will be the final television installment in the MCU’s Phase Five.

Announced in December 2020, Ironheart was originally set to debut in 2023, but Marvel later reworked its long-term plans, reducing the number of new series it releases each year. The delay was partly motivated by fears of market saturation, and the new June 2025 premiere date has been set for this summer. During the 2024 D23 convention, the studio also shared the first footage from the upcoming series, which was described as “a crime show with an Iron Man twist at the center.”

Given that description, Ironheart is likely to be both darker and grittier than many of its MCU siblings. The character Riri Williams was introduced to the MCU in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which she gets caught up in a battle with Namor and his tribe of blue-skinned warriors after inventing a vibranium detector as a student at MIT. Throughout the film, she bonds with Shuri over their mutual love of science, and eventually crafts an armored suit similar to Iron Man’s to help Wakanda fight back. Once the conflict ends, Riri is forced to abandon the suit with the Wakandans before returning to school.

Coming to Chicago

The events of Ironheart take place not long after those of Wakanda Forever. According to the official synopsis, “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).”

Thorne will be joined by 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. A supporting role is filled by Shea Coulée as Slug. Joining Thorne in the MCU is Jim Rash, who will play the dean of MIT, reprising a role he first appeared in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sacha Baron Cohen will also appear in the series, though Marvel has not yet confirmed the details of his role.

The official trailer starts with a bit of action. Riri Williams shows up at a now-defunct pizza place and immediately finds herself locked in an elevator with a fast-approaching poison cloud. She only has two minutes to escape, but this turns out to be a test—a trial or, as the test’s mastermind says, an “interview”—orchestrated by a mysterious person with a gruff voice who calls himself The Hood. On the intercom, he taunts her by saying that she is about to die of asphyxiation unless she hacks into the machine on the floor, where a gas mask is kept. Riri, however, is determined to solve the puzzle in her way, and promptly deploys a system of mirrors and prisms to project the mask right into her face.

Impressed, The Hood invites her to join his unnamed (and not entirely legal) cause to do something truly “iconic.” Riri, of course, is more than happy to accept, but not before her friends Natalie and the others raise concerns about The Hood’s shady methods. Those may be well-earned concerns, especially after The Hood tells Riri, “Anyone who has ever accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done.”

Show of Strengths

With that, the trailer ends, but it has given viewers a good sense of what to expect. Ironheart appears to be less about crime itself and more about the shades of gray that crime requires, especially for a superhero. Riri Williams is no stranger to morally dubious actions in the name of a greater goal, and viewers will be left to speculate whether that streak will be tamped down or accentuated by her new partnership.

Marvel has confirmed that the first three episodes of Ironheart will be released on Disney+ on June 24, 2025. The remaining three episodes will be released every week, with no official word on a potential second season at this time.

In the meantime, interested viewers can take a look at the trailer, as well as a brand-new behind-the-scenes featurette.