Marvel Studios is bringing back an underutilized Captain America: Civil War character in its upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart.
Community alum Jim Rash was revealed to be reprising his role as Dean of MIT from 2016's Captain America: Civil War in the Disney+ series during Marvel Studios' D23 presentation. The studio presented some exclusive footage from the upcoming series, which briefly featured the return of Rash's character. Marvel fans familiar with Riri Williams/Ironheart will know that the character is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, meaning that the actor's reprisal of the character is not completely out of the left field. Instead, it further strengthens the popular phrase, "It's all connected," which has become associated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe brand.
Rash is not the first actor to have a small role in the MCU turn into something larger down the road. Garry Shandling initially appeared as United States Senator Stern in 2010's Iron Man 2 only to return in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which revealed that the character was affiliated with Hydra. Peter Billingsley also reprised his minor Iron Man role of scientist William Ginter Riva, a former employee of Stark Industries, in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home as one of Mysterio's Tony Stark-hating allies.
Ironheart Makes Her MCU Debut in Wakanda Forever
Dominique Thorne will portray Riri Williams/Ironheart in the titular series after making her MCU debut in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Trailers for Wakanda Forever have shown the genius inventor creating a suit of armor that, in the comics, rivals the one built by Tony Stark/Iron Man. It is unknown how Riri will factor into the sequel's plot, but trailers seem to suggest that she has a close friendship with T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright). The upcoming MCU sequel will find the leaders of Wakanda fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
Plot details for Ironheart remain scarce, but Marvel recently confirmed that Anthony Ramos would be playing Parker Robbins/The Hood, a misfit who dons a hood that allows him to tap into dark arts and magic. In addition to Rash, Thorne and Ramos, the cast for Ironheart includes Lyric Ross, Harper Anthony, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah and Shakira Barrera. The first season will consist of six episodes and will be part of Phase 5 of the MCU. Filming began in June 2022 and is expected to last until mid-October.
Ironheart is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in late 2023.
Source: D23