Actor Manny Montana has been cast in the upcoming Disney Plus series Ironheart. The new series from Marvel Studios stars Dominique Thorne as genius inventor Riri Williams.
Ironheart is one of many upcoming Disney Plus series from Marvel Studios. The series follows genius inventor Riri Williams, the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since the Iron Man suit. Further, plot details for the series are undisclosed at the moment, but the character is adapted from the Marvel Comics character of the same name and will likely draw heavily from the source material. Created by Brian Michael Bendis, and Mike Deodato, the character first appeared in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7 in 2016. In the comics, Williams is a 15-year-old engineering student who creates an advanced suit similar to the Iron Man armor, and Iron Man himself endorses Williams to take up the mantle.
Deadline revealed the news of Montana's casting, but details regarding his role are currently being kept under wraps. Montana joins fellow recently announced cast members Anthony Ramos and This Is Us star Lyric Ross. Montana is best known for his role in the NBC drama Good Girls, in which he starred for four seasons as a series regular. He currently plays a recurring role in the current season of FX biker drama Mayans M.C. And he is also set to play a recurring role in the upcoming season of HBO's Westworld.
Since Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, was killed in Avengers: Endgame it seems likely that Williams will take up his role in the MCU. Even though Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. Has not been confirmed for the series, some fans have speculated that he could appear as a sentient AI hologram, similar to his appearance near the end of Endgame. This would allow the character to serve as a mentor to the young Williams, just like in the comics. Ironheart also follows the current phase of the MCU, where younger and newer characters are replacing the original Avengers.
This includes the Disney Plus series Hawkeye, which saw a young Kate Bishop (Haley Steinfeld) prepare to take up the mantle from Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). Another example is the upcoming She-Hulk series starring Tatiana Maslany as the lawyer/superhero Jennifer Walters, who is also Bruce Banner's (Mark Ruffalo) cousin. The most recent Marvel Studios and Disney Plus series, Ms. Marvel, follows a young teenage girl who develops superpowers and idolizes Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).
Ironheart is directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler executive producing. Series creator and head writer Chinaka Hodge will also serve as an executive producer alongside Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, as well as Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout.
Ironheart is currently in production and eyeing a 2023 release date on Disney Plus.
Source: Deadline