Marvel’s Ironheart may have unwittingly saved the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), not by restoring favor with fans, but by setting the course for Avengers: Doomsday.
The Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) spin-off from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever completed production at the end of 2022 and was only just released this summer. At the show’s premiere, executive producer Ryan Coogler told Deadline, “I like to take things one step at a time,” suggesting he wasn’t thinking of building out the MCU.
The Dislike Ratio for the Ironheart trailer as of June 30, 2025 – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
In Ironheart, Riri’s antagonist is The Hood (Anthony Ramos), placing her high-tech armor against his magic cloak. This “tech vs. magic” conflict may have provided the pivot the MCU needed as they wrapped up Phase 5 and headed into Phase 6.
The Jonathan Majors Dilemma
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Jonathan Majors set as the eponymous villain, was set to launch the next chapter of the MCU saga. However, after Majors conviction on several criminal charges, Disney decided to let him go. But now they had a significant challenge in their long-term plan. Would they recast Kang, or take the story in a totally different direction?
Marvel Studios has fired Jonathan Majors. pic.twitter.com/DpRkWGwrLQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 18, 2023
Lacking a viable villain, Marvel chief Kevin Feige and company desperately needed to take everything in a new direction. At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige announced Avengers: Doomsday and that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU as Dr. Doom.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 11: Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios speaks onstage during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at Cinemacon in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Since then, Feige has claimed that plans to replace Kang with Doom were in motion “before what happened to the actor [Majors].” A claim that has been recently challenged by former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo.
The Riri Williams Connection
Riri Williams, described by Deadline as a “STEM-oriented protagonist,” is forced to interact with the more mystical side of the MCU. At the red carpet premiere, Thorne told Deadline, “[It’s] a hilarious journey, and also a really tempting journey that we see her go on once she realizes the full extent and capability of the magic side of the world.”
Riri Williams in Ironheart – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
Ironheart had long finished production before Jonathan Majors’ firing and the announcement of Downey Jr. and Avengers: Doomsday.
“We didn’t know it was going to be Dr. Doom and the Avengers when we first started,” Coogler told Deadline, “but he’s a guy in publishing who’s most famous for fusing technology and magic, so it’s a great sample of things that are to come in probably what’s going to be the biggest movie in Marvel history.”
Ironheart is Probably in the Scrapheap
Even though Ironheart may have offered a new thematic direction for Avengers: Doomsday, the show’s contribution will probably go unrecognized.
Ironheart cracked the top 10 streaming originals in its first week with 526 million minutes watched, but only did so with a three episode drop.
Ironheart on the Nielsen streaming charts – Nielsen
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With the show’s first three episodes dropped all at once, that figure averages out to a meager 175 million minutes per episode—a far cry from the blockbuster numbers Marvel once commanded. The following week, June 30th-July 6th, saw a slight uptick to 536 million minutes with the final three episodes released, but that drops to an even more dismal 87.6 million per episode.
The show was also deeply unpopular with audiences, garnering a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 10% “Heinous” score on Criticless.
Ironheart in her new suit – Disney+
It also did not receive an immediate second-season renewal, so there’s no indication that Thorne’s Ironheart will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. However, given that the script is rumored to be unfinished (despite the fact that the movie is well into production), and Coogler’s sway, anything is possible.
What do you think? Did Ironheart help or hurt the MCU? And have we seen the last of Riri Williams? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
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If the powers that be at disney and marvel honestly think they’re going to win “me” back with these two new avengers movies they’re dumber’n they look, (iger, feige). I can’t wait until whatever actor starts to rachel feige them as we get closer to the first’s release.
They’ve had three failed movies and multiple failed series heading into Doomsday. This movie is DOA. Not even nostalgia bait will be able to save it.
marvel died after the original Avengers film, everything after is rot on the corpse.
These guys are so out of touch with reality…
If this is true Marvel with Lou, Fiege, and Iger as the driving forces, did the impossible. They found a way to fail even HARDER.
I mean, Marvel is already effectively on life support thanks to this trio of creative geniuses and if this pans out it will effectively be pulling the plug on the patient. A patient who may already be brain-dead, or could recover with the right gentle treatment. But none of these three are the right ones for the job.