Ironheart Wants To Be Marvel's Answer To A Legenday TV Crime Thriller

Marvel's latest live-action TV show is nearly upon us with "Ironheart" set to debut on Disney+ later this month. The show was first announced way back in December 2020 alongside "She-Hulk," "Secret Invasion," "Armor Wars," and "I Am Groot." Most of those have come to fruition, save for "Armor Wars," which is supposedly becoming a movie. But now, after years of waiting, Riri Williams is finally getting a solo project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and at least one of the show's producers has made a pretty bold comparison.

Executive producer Sev Ohanian recently spoke with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar) about "Ironheart" ahead of its debut. We've largely been waiting for this ever since Dominique Thorne made her debut as the character in 2022's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Speaking about the character, Ohanian said that "Riri is brilliant yet flawed and finds herself going down a path that I'm not sure we've quite seen in the MCU." He also compared her journey to some of the greatest characters on some of the greatest shows in the history of television:

"She kind of breaks bad in the show, and we go to some uncomfortable places for audiences that I think will be really fun to explore, almost in the vein of Walter White from Breaking Bad or Tony Soprano."

That's right, Ohanian made the comparison that, at least from a broad character journey point of view, Riri Williams and "Ironheart" will mirror what happened with Walter White on "Breaking Bad" and Tony Soprano on "The Sopranos." Those are, to put it mildly, some hefty comparisons to be making.

It's not as though Ohanian is saying that "Ironheart" is as great as "Breaking Bad," but making that comparison in any way sets a lofty expectation. "Breaking Bad," despite being turned down by just about every network except AMC, is widely hailed as one of the greatest shows in TV history, as is "The Sopranos." This show could be absolutely great, and still fall well short of that mark. More than that, it seems hard to believe that Riri Williams is truly going to commit to letting a darkness overtake her the way Walter White did.

The trailer for "Ironheart" certainly hinted at Riri Williams going down a tricky path, but she also seems conflicted in a way that nicely tees up her hero arc. We'll see how it all plays out, but the producers of the show clearly aren't afraid of setting expectations high. The official synopsis for the show reads as follows:

Set after the events of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", Marvel Television's "Ironheart" pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)—a young, genius inventor 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).

"Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler serves as an executive producer on the show alongside Ohanian, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Zoie Nagelhout, Chinaka Hodge, and Zinzi Coogler. Hodge also serves as the head writer, with Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes on board as directors.

The first three episodes of "Ironheart" premiere on Disney+ on June 24, 2025.