Ryan Coogler and his colleagues didn’t set out to make Ironheart into a prelude to Avengers: Doomsday, but through a happy accident, the titles are thematically aligned. At the red carpet premiere of Ironheart on Monday, Coogler told Deadline that the conflict between tech wiz Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and magically-empowered vigilante Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos) perfectly compliments the collision of sci-fi and fantasy that is Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) It’s also timely to explore these elements, he noted, as the proliferation of artificial intelligence software continues to make headlines. Ironheart premieres on Tuesday, June 24th at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+, and it fits in nicely as the Marvel Cinematic Universe steers toward another big crossover.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“It’s so crazy to be putting this [series] out now, at the time where AI is on the front of everybody’s mind, technological ethics are on the front of everybody’s mind,” Coogler said, “but also — we didn’t know it was going to be Doctor Doom and the Avengers when we first started, but he’s a guy in publishing who’s most famous for fusing technology and magic, so it’s a great sample of things that are to come in probably what’s going to be the biggest movie in Marvel history.”
At the same event, Thorne teased a more personal connection to mysticism for Riri herself. “We definitely see her family, her mother try to kind of welcome her into that in a very rudimentary way and also really spiritual way that she is not at all interested in, so I think it’s a hilarious journey and also a really tempting journey that we see her go on once she realizes the full extent and capability of the magic side of the world,” she said.
Fans were introduced to the MCU’s version of Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where the extent of her tech savvy as a genius inventor was on clear display. From a foundation of tinkering in her garage with her stepfather, she mastered complex engineering and was accepted into MIT, where she began working on her own Iron Man-style power suit, and developed the world’s first Vibranium-detector. Now, Ironheart will take her back to her hometown, Chicago, and surprisingly, that’s where she’ll become more entangled in magical powers like those wielded by Doctor Strange.
As for Avengers: Doomsday, we know surprisingly little about the plot, or even about the MCU’s take on Doctor Doom. We know the story will involve multiverse incursions to bring the Fantastic Four and the X-Men together from different dimensions, but we don’t know where Doom himself comes from, how he has been empowered, and what exactly he wants.
With only a few new MCU releases between now and then, we should expect answers to begin popping up soon. Ironheart premieres on Tuesday, June 24th at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+. Avengers: Doomsday is filming now and is currently scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.
