Ryan Coogler is officially having a good year. The box office success of his most recent film, Sinners, is already in the rearview mirror, and the acclaimed director already has another hit on the horizon. Marvel’s Ironheart is Coogler’s next big project—a limited series event for the studio that has already teased a new trailer in advance of its highly anticipated June 2025 premiere.

Produced as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ironheart will feature six episodes and star Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, the teenage science prodigy. A protégé of Tony Stark in the comics, Riri will be the MCU’s new kid on the block in an upcoming installment that’s been set as the last TV series to air during Phase Five.

Ironheart was first announced all the way back in December 2020, though the MCU installment’s original 2023 release date has been pushed back to summer 2025. This is the result of Marvel’s decision to reduce the number of MCU series it was releasing per year as part of its long-term strategy. The change of plans followed growing concerns about market saturation for the company’s shows.

ComicBook.com described the footage shown at the 2024 D23 event as “a crime show with an Iron Man twist at the center,” and while Thorne was on hand at the time to confirm this take, there are indications that the upcoming series could be tonally darker and more grounded than most of the MCU’s other television offerings.

Williams first appeared in the live-action Marvel movies in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where she found herself caught up in a conflict with Namor and his army of blue-skinned superhumans after creating a vibranium detector at MIT. While studying there, she also took the opportunity to work on and build her armored suit, a proto-Iron Man-style creation. Riri’s quest to help Wakanda during the movie meant that she and Shuri bonded over a mutual love of science.

As the two became good friends, Riri built an Iron Man suit of her own and donned the armor to help defend Wakanda from Namor and his forces. By the time peace had been made and she was returning to MIT, Riri had no choice but to leave the suit behind with the Wakandans, on account of its vibranium construction.

A Story Where Tech Meets Magic

Ironheart jumps in relatively soon after the events of Wakanda Forever. In a new official synopsis, Marvel states that, “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).”

Alongside Thorne’s Riri, the cast is rounded out 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 mom, Ronnie. In a non-speaking role, Shea Coulée will play Slug. Jim Rash will return to the MCU as the dean of MIT—something that he first portrayed in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. Sacha Baron Cohen is also set to feature in the upcoming MCU series, though Marvel hasn’t said anything about his role.

In the new trailer, Riri soon finds herself in a race to escape a locked-down pizza restaurant when the elevator she’s trapped in is filled with poison gas, leaving her just two minutes to find a way out. As it transpires, this is a test—or as the man on the other end of the security panel (and the voice-over in the trailer) calls it, an “interview.” The Hood, as he describes himself, warns Riri that “If you do not break into this box within the next two minutes, you will die. Take it. As. Given. I will kill you if you don’t leave this building. Suffocate.”

The target is a floor-mounted safe with a gas mask inside, though Riri’s focus and natural intelligence allow her to find her solution to the puzzle. Having watched the trial, The Hood is duly impressed with her innovation and offers to induct her into his crime syndicate as she agrees to work with him. Riri doesn’t need much convincing as she views The Hood as “the visionary” that she needs to take her work to the next level and make something truly “iconic.”

The Hood seems to have a point in his view of the matter. He states in the trailer that, “Anyone who has ever accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done.” Riri’s friends, particularly Natalie, are dubious about this assessment as she accepts the Hood’s offer to join his team. Can Riri be trusted not to overstep any ethical boundaries, particularly with the enigmatic The Hood? We’ll find out on June 24, 2025, when the first three episodes of Ironheart will drop on Disney+. The rest of the series will be released weekly.

Marvel hasn’t announced a second season yet, but hasn’t ruled the idea out either, so if the ratings are there, there’s no reason to expect that it wouldn’t happen. In the meantime, we’ve got a full trailer and a new behind-the-scenes featurette to enjoy before we see Thorne’s Riri in action, along with all the latest technology and gadgets in her signature superhero costume.