"Iron Man loves Ironheart" — Robert Downey Jr. encourages the Ironheart team ahead of its release
With Ironheart nearing its premiere, Robert Downey Jr. shared a supportive message for the cast of the MCU's latest TV show. In a segment on Good Morning America on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, the Iron Man star shared a recorded video message for Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos, who were being interviewed on the talk show.
"Miss Thorne, I couldn't be happier than to be seeing you bring Riri Williams to life. But the hood has me nervous. Is the hood green? Please tell me Mr. Ramos is not replacing me as Doctor Doom via Parker Robbins?... Long story short, Iron Man loves Ironheart," Robert Downey Jr. said in the video.
After debuting Riri Williams' character in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, Thorne will be starring in her own show. In the movie, Riri helped the Wakandans during their war with the underwater kingdom of Talokan. During her time there, surrounded by Wakanda's vast resources, she was able to design her own Stark tech suit.
The young inventor from Chicago will return to the MCU on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, for Ironheart only on Disney+. As teased in the show's synopsis from IMDb, her story in the series will be about her invention, the "most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man."
Everything to know about MCU's Ironheart ahead of the show's release on Disney+
MCU's Ironheart was first announced by Kevin Feige in December 2020, and 4-and-a-half years later, it's finally coming to Disney+. During the show's announcement, it was also confirmed that Dominique Thorne would be starring in the series as Riri Williams, while Chinaka Hodge was announced as the head writer for the series in April 2021.
In an article by Marvel.com, published on May 14, 2025, executive producer Ryan Coogler shared a preview of Riri Williams in the series. He said that there was a clear distinction between Thorne's Ironheart and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man.
"There's a difference between [Riri] and maybe Captain America or a Black Panther, where a mantle is being passed. This is a character who was obviously influenced by Tony Stark and inspired by him, but she is also very different and doing her own thing," Coogler said.
Coogler said that Riri was not taking over after Tony Stark or even following in his footsteps. She had her own legacy to build, and while Tony was this billionaire playboy and a philanthropist, Riri's character was more like a scrappy inventor. They were both brilliant engineers, but they were from very different backgrounds.
Another confirmed cast member is Hamilton and In the Heights star Anthony Ramos, who is playing the villain in the series. Ramos is cast as Parker Robbins, aka The Hood. Coogler also teased Riri and Parker's dynamic in the series, describing them as "two sides of the same coin" and that they were alike in how they wanted to achieve greatness. He further said that the two characters would be the heart of the storyline.
"It really highlights what happens when that ambition goes unchecked. What kind of price do you pay?" he teased.
Alden Ehrenreich also joins the cast to play Joe McGillicuddy. Additionally, Jim Rash is expected to reprise his Captain America: Civil War role as the Dean of MIT in Ironheart.
Other confirmed supporting cast members include Lyric Ross, Regan Aliyah, Mathew Elam, Anji White, Paul Calderón, Manny Montana, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, and more. Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes are credited as the directors for the show, which will have a total of six episodes.
Catch Ironheart when it premieres on Disney+ on June 24, 2025, at 9 pm ET. According to Marvel, the series will launch with a 3-episode premiere.
