Marvel has dropped a new trailer for upcoming Disney+ show Ironheart that reveals a magic-powered Iron Man-style suit for heroine Riri Williams.
The teaser also showcases a couple of allies for Williams (Dominique Thorne), including Riri’s late friend Natalie (This Is Us’ Lyric Ross) who the inventor brings back as an AI hologram, and a character played by Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Alden Ehrenreich.
But the trailer’s biggest reveal is Williams crafting a new Iron Man suit that fuses her own technological genius with the kind of magic we’ve previously only seen wielded by witches and wizards like Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange. And it’s this reveal that has now reignited long-standing rumors of Ironheart finally being the place we first see the MCU’s version of Mephisto.
If it feels like Ironheart has been a while coming, well, that’s because it has. First announced by Marvel in 2020 as a spin-off from the then-upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the series was shot in 2022 and has been sat waiting for release ever since.
While not part of Ironheart’s officially-announced cast, multiple reports from Deadline in late 2022 claimed that Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen had filmed for the series in a secret role, believed to be that of fan-favourite comic book villain Mephisto.
So far, however, Mephisto has been kept under wraps — but the show’s blending of technology and magic has long hinted at something more fantastical bubbling under its MIT-set surface. Indeed, earlier looks at Ironheart have focused on Williams’ relationship with Parker “The Hood” Robbins (Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos), another familiar character from Marvel comics who looks set to act as her gateway to magic use.
Comic book fans will know The Hood as a villainous criminal, with superpowers gained from wearing a magical, well, hood. Fans suspect Robbins’ relationship with Williams to deteriorate throughout the series, turning him from ally to adversary, perhaps through continued temptation by a greater magical power.
Who could this be? Well, all fingers point to Mephisto, a character who has long been expected to turn up in the MCU, as far back as celebrated Disney+ series Wandavision. In the comics, The Hood gets similar powers from Dormammu, the demonic entity already seen within the MCU during the first Doctor Strange movie. But the sense here is that Marvel has not cast Baron Cohen to take on the mantle of that character — and instead, Dormammu’s role will be taken by another devilish foe.
Also, Mephisto likes hanging around in his underpants, which would fit with the Borat star.
Ironheart debuts with its first three episodes available via Disney+ in just a couple of weeks, on June 24, 2025.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
