Ironheart has finally arrived on Disney Plus, and apparently it includes some elements that will be key for the future of the MCU, particularly Avengers: Doomsday. According to the show's producer and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, the show is "a great sample" for what's next for the superhero franchise.
"It's so crazy to be putting this movie 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," he told Deadline when asked about the show's blend of spectral magic and technology through Anthony Ramos' character, The Hood.
Coogler established a connection between this kind of power and the upcoming introduction of Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom, saying it was a total coincidence. "We didn't know it was going to be Dr. 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," he added.
Executive producer Zoie Nagelhout shared some more details about the introduction of spectral magic during an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+. "Pairing her [Riri] with a magic based villain was really exciting to us, because it allowed us to not only explore new corners of the MCU – we've seen Doctor Strange, we've entered that world – but I think, as you may know from the comics, we've barely scratched the surface," she explained.
"So allowing this show to be the place where we start to kind of unpack other corners of the supernatural not only felt fitting for our protagonist, but also allowed us to explore different visuals and different kinds of action set pieces. Because we wanted the show to be so grounded in Chicago and with these characters, that was our way of giving it some heightened grandeur," Nagelhout added.
It's unclear how deep these connections go, so we'll have to wait and see all episodes of Ironheart, which stars Dominique Thorne as young tech genius Riri Williams. The show has earned mixed reviews so far, as early viewers can't seem to decide if the series is a "disappointment" or "better than I expected".
For more, check out our breakdown of the upcoming Marvel Phase 6, which kicks off with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, and see our guides to watching the Marvel movies in order and all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.
