Television

Marvel set to introduce a new transgender character in upcoming Ironheart TV series

By Jordan Robledo

6th April 2022

Marvel
Marvel

A brand new transgender character is expected to debut in Marvel’s forthcoming Disney+ TV series Ironheart.

Back in 2020, the studio announced that a live-action Ironheart series was officially headed to the streamer. The popular film studio also revealed that actress Dominique Thorne would be portraying the titular character.

“Coming soon to Disney Plus, Dominique Thorne is genius inventor Riri Williams in Ironheart, an original series about the creator of the most advanced suit of armour since Iron Man,” Marvel tweeted.

Over the last two years, information regarding the show’s plot has been particularly scarce.

However, Marvel’s recent casting call has given fans more insight into the series and its new characters.

According to a report from POC Culture, the studio is looking for a “Black, Latina or Afro-Latina transgender woman who is around 18-22 years old.”

The casting call also described the character as “unapologetically nerdy” with a “mystical bent and unique sense of humour.”

Over the years, Marvel has slowly introduced an array of LGBTQ+ characters within the expansive universe.

Last year, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals film introduced the first openly gay superhero in the MCU with Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry.

After his appearance in several Marvel blockbusters, including The Avengers (2012), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Loki’s fluid gender identity and bisexuality were confirmed in his popular Disney+ series.

Tessa Thompson’s character of Valkyrie has also been confirmed as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Even though the number of queer characters is limited, Marvel execs have previously revealed plans to include more LGBTQ+ roles in future projects.

During the Black Widow fan premiere in June 2021, Marvel’s Vice President of Film Production Victoria Alonso said there are “many stories to tell.”

“We will empower those that are. We’re not changing anything. We’re just showing the world who these people are, who these characters are… There’s a lot that we have coming up that I think will be representative of the world of today,” she told Variety.

“We’re not going to nail it in the first movie or the second movie or third movie, or the first show or second show, but we will do our best to consistently try to represent.”