“The Closest Thing to an ‘Iron Man’ Film Since 2013” Is Officially Underway

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Tony Stark shows Arc Reactor to Obadiah in 'Iron Man'

Credit: Marvel Studios

There are few characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with as large — or as passionate — of a fan base as Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) in Civil War
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Don Cheadle’s War Machine Returning In ANOTHER Marvel Series

RDJ’s fan-favorite character launched the blockbuster super hero universe with Iron Man (2008) and went on to appear in 11 total MCU films — Iron Man 2 (2010)The Avengers (2012)Iron Man 3 (2013)Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

As more than a decade passed, Stark turned from a billionaire playboy into the husband of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), the trusted confidante of Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), the mentor of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the occasional adversary of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), and the fearless leader of his father’s legacy, Stark Industries.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Fans Declare Full “Marvel Boycott” Over Series Following Sam Wilson’s Replacement

Stark also bravely sacrificed himself to save the world from Thanos (Josh Brolin) as Marvel’s Infinity Saga reached it’s tragic conclusion in Endgame.

Although RDJ has confirmed that he’s done with the MCU — even going so far as to unfollow all of his Avengers costars on social media (likely a publicity stunt, but still…) — and Iron Man was already recast with a new voice actor in Marvel’s Disney+ Original animated series What If…? (2021), fans still can’t get enough of the super hero actor.

RDJ as Iron Man using the Infinity Stones to snap Thanos out of existence.
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Marvel Confirms Two Fan-Favorite ‘Guardians’ Characters Are Not Returning

Now, although the Sherlock Holmes star himself won’t be returning to the MCU, Iron Man’s spinoff series, Ironheart, is officially underway in Chicago.

Twitter account Filming in Chicago posted:

The news: while everyone was enjoying the weekend, new @Marvel series Ironheart was filming in Chicago. According to @screenmag they won’t start until June, looks like they were doing either test shots or B roll/plate shots. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything further.

Related: Marvel Writer Spits in the Face of Fans, Does Not Care if MCU Erases Character’s Heritage

A recent article about the upcoming Marvel Disney+ Original series noted:

With the Iron Man spin-off currently preparing for the actors to arrive for filming, possibly in June, production ought to wrap during the fall, indicating a premiere in mid to late 2023. Anticipation will obviously be high for the armored adventure as it serves as the closest thing to an Iron Man film since 2013, although the absence of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark will no doubt be felt.

Over the coming weeks, fans should look forward to seeing more actors joining the ensemble – which already includes Dominique Thorne, Harper Anthony, Anthony Ramos, and Lyric Ross. Perhaps there may even be some surprise returns from Iron Man’s corner of the Marvel universe, such as Happy Hogan [Jon Favreau] or Pepper Potts [Gwyneth Paltrow].

(l-r) gwyneth paltrow as pepper potts, robert downey jr as tony stark, and elon musk as himself in iron man 2
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Actor Convinced “Nobody,” Not Even Thanos, Can Beat the MCUs New Villain

It is, however, worth noting that Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios has yet to confirm the appearances of any well-known MCU stars in Ironheart.

The villains in the series, though, are expected to hearken back to Stark’s former business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Per a popular online rumor, “the villains of #Ironheart were basically a bunch of tech bros., Stane [Obadiah’s son] being one which has been rumored/reported already.”

obadiah stane taking arc reactor from tony stark in iron man (2008)
Credit: Marvel Studios

Since we know Williams is set to be a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) when Ironheart debuts, it serves to reason that the Silicon Valley-style “tech bros.” will be her fellow students, although this hasn’t been confirmed.

The brief official description of the upcoming series reads, “Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.”

dominique thorne birthday party
Credit: Dominique Thorne/Instagram

Thorne will make her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

Are you looking forward to Ironheart?

You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the six series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Marvel’s What If…?, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight — on Disney+ anytime.

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