Anthony Ramos definitely isn’t throwing away his shot, as Deadline reports the actor — who previously starred in musical movie In the Heights — is set to join Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an as-yet-unconfirmed role in the Disney Plus series Ironheart.
The streaming service announced the new TV series in December 2020, with Marvel later confirming that Dominique Thorne who has previously starred in drama movie Judas and the Black Messiah, would be heading the cast as child genius Riri Williams. The character was first introduced in an issue of the ‘Invincible Iron Man’ comic in 2016, before getting her own solo Marvel comic series two years later.
In the comics, the teenage inventor is mentored by Tony Stark after making a powerful suit of armour using spare parts she found in college. Given Stark’s untimely demise in the MCU, an exact repeat of this storyline is unlikely. However, with Kevin Feige announcing that Riri will be making her first appearance in Black Panther 2, it is possible that characters from Wakanda might take on the mentorship role that was attributed to Iron Man in the comics.
According to Deadline, Ramos’ introduction into the MCU is designed to be similar to that of Jonathan Major’s introduction as Kang the Conquer in Loki. Deadline also report that insider sources told them that producers intend Ramos’ character to not only have a big role in Ironheart, but also in other future Marvel projects.
At the time of writing, Thorne is the only confirmed casting choice for Ironheart, with Chinaka Hodge also on board as the main writer for the series.
While the release date for Ironheart is unclear, Kevin Feige let slip in an August 2021 ComicBook.com interview that Williams had already begun shooting for series, so hopefully we don’t have all that long to wait!
Meanwhile, you can catch Dominique Thorne’s debut as Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which comes to theatres on 11 November 2022.