The winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Shea Coulée, has joined the ensemble of Ironheart. According to Deadline, her position is presently a secret. As Riri Williams/Ironheart, Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) will take the lead in Marvel’s Disney+ series after making her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later this year. Coulée has placed in the top three in three different seasons of the competition series, winning All-Stars 5 once. She has used her fame to try her hand at podcasting, modelling, and acting. She also produces handmade soap called The $100,000 Bar and a beer called Shea Coul-Ale.
In Rihanna’s fashion show, Savage X Fenty Show, which included Coulée as herself, the singer and actress made a cameo appearance. It also stars Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Manny Montana (Good Girls), and Harper Anthony, in addition to Coulée and Thorne. All four of those performers had secret roles in the production, much like Coulée. The only other cast member besides Thorne to be revealed so far is This Is Us’ Lyric Ross, who will play Williams’ best buddy. The project, which will be part of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has Chinaka Hodge (Snowpiercer) on board as the showrunner.
Disney+ plans to debut Ironheart in late 2023. Williams first appeared in a Marvel Comics publication in a cameo capacity in the May 2016 issue of Invincible Iron Man and then made her proper debut in the July 2016 edition. She is a genius at the age of 15 and has been awarded a full scholarship at MIT. By the end of the story, she has designed and built her own Iron Man suit, earning the admiration and support of none other than Tony Stark. The character was developed by Michael Brian Bendis (the writer) and Mike Deodato (the artist). Williams, like Black Panther’s Shuri (Letitia Wright), may be seen in the Wakanda Forever teaser, suggesting that their Marvel Cinematic Universe backstories will be similar.
Two weeks ago, at Comic-Con International: Hall H, Marvel expanded on a number of projects, including Ironheart. Back in December of 2020, the series was unveiled among other Marvel projects including Armor Wars and Secret Invasion. In Phase 5, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania will get things off, while Thunderbolts, Marvel’s counterpart to DC’s Suicide Squad, will wrap things out. Along with these two movies, Phase 5 will also feature the television programmes Echo (with Alaqua Cox of Hawkeye) and Agatha: Coven of Chaos (including the return of Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness from WandaVision).
In late 2023, Disney+ will debut Ironheart. In the November 11 release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she will make her first appearance officially.