Ironheart: Cree Summer Joins Cast; Sacha Baron Cohen/Mephisto Update

Looks like the rumor machine around Disney+ & head writer Chinaka Hodge‘s (Amazing Stories, Snowpiercer) Dominique Thorne-starring live-action series Ironheart is continuing to pick up steam. First up, Deadline Hollywood is reporting that actress Cree Summer (What We Do in the Shadows) has joined the cast (though Marvel declined to comment). And then there’s the matter of reports that Sacha Baron Cohen had been tipped for a role in the series that might also be a larger, all-MCU-encompassing role (with Mephisto being at the top of the list). Well, DH is also reporting that Cohen may appear in either the 5th or 6th episode and that Cohen would have both in-person scenes and scenes where he would appear based on CGI effects scans (indicating a change into his real character).

In a recently-released teaser for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, viewers were offered a tease of a throwdown between Riri Williams (Thorne) and Namor (Tenoch Huerta) that got us hooked. Here are two screencaps from the moment, including one of the best looks at the suit yet.

Now here’s a look at the new teaser for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, featuring a look at Thorne’s Riri Williams in action:

Joining Thorne & Anthony Ramos (The Heights) in Ironheart are Lyric Ross (This Is Us), Manny Montana (Good Girls), Zoe Terakes (Nine Perfect Strangers), Regan Aliyah (XO, Kitty), and Shakira Barrera (Sprung, GLOW), along with Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), who’s reportedly been cast in a key role. RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Shea Couleé has also joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Reports are that Sacha Baron Cohen may be joining the cast (and the larger MCU) in the role of Mephisto.  Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Mythic Quest, Atlanta) have been tapped to direct the streaming series.

Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato and debuting in 2016’s Invincible Iron Man No. #7, Riri Williams (Thorne) is a teenage genius who made a major first impression by building her own version of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit- and would eventually go on to lead her own comic book series. During the Vanity Fair Oscars Party earlier this year, Ramos (Parker Robbins/The Hood) was asked how it feels to be joining the MCU via Ironheart. Expressing how “excited” and “blessed” he is to be joining the series and the MCU overall, Ramos jokes in the following clip about being in the gym and wondering when Marvel Studios was going to call. From there, Ramos names some of the people from the streaming series’ “dope squad” that he’s appreciated working with. Here’s a look at Ramos’ interview:

In addition, Ryan Coogler‘s production company Proximity has come aboard to produce, with Coogler, Hodge, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian executive producing alongside Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout.