New footage from the upcoming Disney+ MCU series Ironheart reveals the origin of Iron Man's successor. Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, is the progenitor of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The success of the first Iron Man film in 2008, which followed the tech genius creating his own metal supersuit, is what led to the sprawling franchise that exists now, and Stark was the beating heart of the first three phases until his death in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. However, his shadow still looms large over the stories being told in Phase 4 of the MCU, with the decision that he made causing what became known as The Blip, impacting everyone in the universe when the people Thanos erased were brought back five years later.

Ironheart, which was created by playwright and poet Chinaka Hodge and is due in late 2023, will focus on the character Riri Williams, a genius teenager played by If Beale Street Could Talk actress Dominique Thorne. The character will first be introduced in the upcoming film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which comes to theaters on November 11. The show, which follows her developing a suit of her own, will also feature Lyric Ross, Harper Anthony, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Shakira Barrera, and Captain America: Civil War's Jim Rash returning as the Dean of MIT.

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Screen Rant was present at D23 Expo 2022 today, where exclusive footage from Ironheart was shared at their Marvel presentation. Although the footage is not currently available online, we are able to share a description of what was shown. It begins with Riri testing the unseen suit by calling to it from her room. That is followed by a scene of Jim Rash dismissing her by saying she's not the first genius at MIT, even though she insists that what she is building is iconic. This is followed by Anthony Ramos' character saying that "anyone who has ever accomplished anything iconic in life, has had to do some questionable things to get it done. What will you do, Riri?" She retorts that she wants to build something like "him, but, you know, better," referring to Tony Stark.

From this footage, it is clear that Ironheart is going to keep Iron Man very much front of mind, for obvious reasons. As with many of the previous MCU series, including Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and the currently airing She-Hulk, Ironheart will be something of a passing of the torch as a new hero with similar powers and abilities steps into the role of a former Avenger. However, in this case, it is probable that Iron Man's successor is perhaps even more skilled than he was, right off the bat.

Until recently, it seemed like the MCU was setting up Tom Holland's Spider-Man as a potential replacement for Iron Man. At the very least, it positioned Stark as a mentor to him, even providing him the advanced technology for his new Spidey suit. However, with Spider-Man living in a world that has now forgotten him and Ironheart on the horizon, it seems a major sea change is on the way.