Production on Marvel Studios' Ironheart series for Disney+ has begun sooner than expected.Twitter user Filming in Chicago (@filming_chicago) confirmed that work on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series, starring Judas and the Black Messiah's Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart, started this past weekend in Chicago, IL. Though Screen Magazine had previously reported that production would not start until June, it appears that the production team worked over the weekend on "either test shots or B roll/plate shots."
The Disney+ series, as well as Thorne's casting in the lead role, was announced during Disney's Investor Day in December 2020. At the time of the announcement, Thorne confirmed that she landed the role of Riri Williams/Ironheart without a single audition. "I was so shocked, in fact, that there was a considerable lag in the conversation," said Williams. "I was waiting for them to say, like, 'Oh, we'll send you the sides,' or, 'Get your tape over to us.' But there was none of that. It was just like, 'Would you like to do this?' It was probably the most unique experience I've ever had because there was no audition at all."
Riri Williams/Ironheart is set to make her first MCU appearance in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Director Ryan Coogler will also act as an executive producer on the Ironheart series under his production banner, Proximity Media. Snowpiercer writer Chinaka Hodge will serve as showrunner while Dear White People directors Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes will direct the six-episode series. Along with Thorne, the cast of Ironheart also includes In the Heights star Anthony Ramos as well as Lyric Ross and Harper Anthony in undisclosed roles.
Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, Ironheart made her Marvel Comics debut in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7 in May 2016. Following the death of her father, aspiring 15-year-old student engineer Riri Williams attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a scholarship. It is there that Williams uses stolen material to build her own Iron Man suit. After stopping two escaped prisoners from the New Mexico State Penitentiary, Williams catches the attention of Tony Stark, who gives her the seal of approval to pursue her superhero exploits. During the climax of Civil War II, Tony Stark falls into a coma, resulting in an AI of him being sent to Riri to guide and encourage her through her adventures.
See Ironheart make her big-screen debut when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on Nov. 11. Disney+'s Ironheart does not have a release date.
Source: Twitter