Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for What If…? Season 3Ironheart’smultiple delays have just become even weirder for the MCU at the end of 2024. Originally debuting in 2022’sBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverahead of her solo series, Riri Williams' Ironheart (Dominique Thorne) is a young and gifted engineer who creates her very own suit of armor, inspired by Tony Stark’s Iron Man. However, the delays of said solo series have created some brand-new strangeness for the MCU.
In 2022’sWakanda Forever, Riri becomes the center of a major conflict between Wakanda and Namor’s underwater city of Talokan after she creates a device capable of detecting vibranium. Helping the Wakandans who protected her from Namor, Riri built an impressive suit of armor using Wakandan technology based on her original prototype suit, though she was unable to take it with her back to MIT at the end ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.WhileWakanda Foreverset up Riri’s upcoming showIronheart, the show’s delays have made her role in a more recent MCU project pretty odd.
Ironheart Was Originally Supposed To Come Out In 2023
There Have Been Multiple Delays
Originally,Ironheartwas announced with a planned release date in the Fall of 2023. This would have put it just one year ahead ofWakanda Forever, which makes sense given its status as a direct spin-off from the events of the movie. However, Marvel Studios then removed the project from the 2023 slate in favor of a 2024 release, only to then move it once more to its current slot of June of 2025.
Who Is Ironheart? MCU’s New Iron Man Explained
Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Here’s everything you need to know about the MCU’s new Iron Man.
These multiple delays forIronheartwere due to a variety of factors, primarily Marvel Studios and Disney reevaluating their content output, desiring a stronger focus on quality over quantity. As such, it was explained by Marvel Studios' Head of Television Brad Winderbaum that they wanted more time to work on the series to make sure it was the best project it could be. That said, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes also played their part in the delays.
What If Season 3 Brings Back Riri Williams
The Last Hero On A Broken World
DespiteIronheart’sdelays, Riri Williams still played a role in 2024’s animatedWhat If…?Season 3. Voiced by Thorne, Riri had a starring role in “What If…The Emergence Destroyed The Earth?”, revealing an alternate reality where the world was broken apart by the Celestial Tiamut and Riri became one of the last heroes standing in the face of Mysterio who came to rule the planet’s remnants.By the end ofWhat If…?Season 3, episode 5, Riri merges herself with White Vision’s body, becoming an incredibly powerful half-human, half-synthezoid hybrid to save the world and give hope to the world’s struggling survivors with Mysterio’s defeat.
What If…?Season 3, episode 5 is one of the better stories inWhat If…?Season 3, and Riri’s story is quite impressive.However, it’s admittedly pretty odd to see a variant in the MCU becoming so powerful before the original character has barely been featured in her own story beyond a single debut appearance. As such, the episode feels pretty indicative thatIronheartwas originally meant to premiere well before this third and final seasonWhat If…?.
Marvel’s Twists On Ironheart & The Hood Feel Weird Thanks To Ironheart’s Delay
You Can TellIronheartWas Meant To Release First
Despite being set in alternate realities, it’s very weird to see Riri Williams becoming far more powerful than she will likely ever be in her debut MCU series,beforesaid series is even released. Releasing after is clearly what was originally intended on Marvel Studios' part, and it would have made more sense. The same goes for the following episode whichsubverts The Hood’s identity inWhat If…?Season 3, episode 6. Rather than the crime lord Parker Robbins who will be played by Anthony Ramos in 2025’sIronheart, Robbins is killed off-screen and the new Hood is revealed to be Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing.
Additionally, The Hood’s power to phase/teleport and the corruptive supernatural nature of the hood itself have now debuted inWhat If…?, rather than inIronheartas they should have. While it’s not the most egregious or most confusing thing Marvel Studios has ever done, it certainly does make both shows weirder.Likewise, it arguably does a disservice toIronheart, a show that hasn’t even been released…butWhat If…?has already riffed on.
All episodes ofWhat If…?Season 3 are now streaming on Disney+.Ironheartis set to premiere on June 24th, 2025.
Ironheart
Cast
Ironheart: Following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart introduces Riri Williams, a prodigious inventor navigating her path back in Chicago. Balancing her inventive prowess in creating iron suits with the enigmatic presence of Parker Robbins, known as The Hood, Riri finds herself at the intersection of technology and magic.
What If…?
What If… ? is an animated anthology series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which features fan-favorite characters, including Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger, Thor, and more. The new series, directed by Bryan Andrews with AC Bradley as head writer, features signature MCU action with a curious twist. The show sees Uatu the Watcher, an omnipotent being that observes the events of multiple universes from afar as they unfold, unable to interfere. However, things shift when an entity peers beyond the veil, jeopardizing the multiverse.
