In anticipation of Ironheart's release, Marvel Studios revealed the eight MCU TV shows and movies fans should watch before the new series. Led by Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams, Ironheart tells the tale of a young supergenius picking up the baton left behind by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and building her own suit of super-powered armor. While Riri herself has not appeared in many MCU projects to date, some key titles are worth revisiting for fans wanting to get the most whole Ironheart experience.
As part of the lead-up to Ironheart, Disney+ has released a "suggested" list of projects to watch before the show's release date. The list includes some of the MCU's most significant adventures, featuring everyone from Doctor Strange to Black Panther.
Fans spotted the new listing on Disney+'s official Ironheart landing page, which includes suggested titles for every project on the platform just below where the new episodes will appear.
Typically, these are hand-picked (especially for high-profile projects like Ironheart) as they share either a narrative or thematic connection, or simply seem like something a fan of any particular project may like to watch next.
Ironheart comes to Disney+ on Tuesday, June 24. The new series will be released in two three-episode batches, marking the first MCU series to debut in this way. It stars Dominique Thorne as the show's titular hero, Anthony Ramos as the villainous Hood, Shea Couleé as Slug, and Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy.
The series follows Thorne's Riri Williams as she becomes embroiled in a battle of magic vs. tech after crossing paths with The Hood in her native Chicago. The supergenius is then put to the test, forced to blend science and sorcery to take down this new foe, while creating something iconic.
Every MCU Movie and TV Show To Watch Before Ironheart
Iron Man
Of course, all three Iron Man films would appear on any Ironheart 'need to watch' list. 2008's Iron Man was the MCU film that started it all, introducing fans to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, a billionaire weapons manufacturer who, after a brush with death, decides to put his war-profiteering ways behind him and suit up as the titular Iron Man.
The first Iron Man movie has a unique connection to Ironheart. A story beat from the 2008 film will finally come back in the new series, with Obediah Stane's (the villain from that first MCU movie) son Zeke rumored to be a part of its epic adventure.
Iron Man 2
Just like Iron Man, Iron Man 2's fingerprints can be seen all over Ironheart and the plight of Riri Williams. The 2010 MCU sequel saw Tony Stark face a threat unlike ever before, as he takes on the terrifying Whiplash and Justin Hammer, who are both seeking to tarnish Tony's now-glowing reputation.
While never having interacted with Riri Williams in the MCU continuity (that we know of), Stark's influence can be felt throughout her story, as the 20-something superhero sets out to build something on the level of the renowned inventor-turned-Avenger.
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 closed out the Iron Man trilogy in 2013. Yes, this movie has the same Tony-to-Riri connection as the other franchise films, but it also introduces a new type of villain for Tony Stark's tech-based hero in Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin.
While Kingley's character proved not to be who he said he was, there is some connective tissue there, adding a new layer to who Tony could take on in the MCU outside of his previously seen tech super geniuses.
Doctor Strange
If Iron Man represents the tech side of Ironheart's tech vs magic war, Doctor Strange is that for magic. The 2016 film introduced audiences to the spell-slinging side of the Marvel universe, focusing on Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange as he took on his magic-wielding alter-ego of Doctor Strange.
The first Strange movie shares a pretty overt connection to Ironheart in its primary villain. In the comics, The Hood gets his powers from the cosmic being, Dormammu (Doctor Strange's main antagonist).
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, picks up Stephen Strange's story post-Avengers: Endgame. After helping save the universe alongside the Avengers, Multiverse of Madness sees Strange contending with a mourning Scarlet Witch, who may be accidentally tearing the Multiverse apart on her quest to save her two sons.
The Doctor Strange 2 and Ironheart connection likely comes from the movie's significant use of magic, which Riri Williams will seemingly use in the new show to enhance her Iron Man-like suit of armor.
Black Panther
All roads to Ironheart run through Wakanda (at least in the MCU), so it would make sense that both of Ryan Coogler's Black Panther films showed up on Marvel Studios' suggested-to-watch list for the new streaming series.
Although Riri Williams did not appear in the first Black Panther film, it laid the foundation for her appearance in the sequel by setting up big characters like Letitia Wright's Shuri and the fictional African nation of Wakanda.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was meant to do many things in Marvel Studios' super-powered series. It had to play as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (who led the first Black Panther film), establish the next person to take on the Black Panther moniker, and introduce Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams.
The film succeeded in all three aspects, roping in Thorne's teenage hero as Letitia Wright's Shuri sought out Riri after it was revealed she had developed a Talokanil-detecting device for the CIA. Riri Williams joined the adventure, suiting up as Ironheart in a new suit designed especially for her by the Wakandans.
What If...?
Riri Williams' only other MCU appearance, outside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, came in the third season of Marvel Studios' animated What If...? series. She led Season 3, Episode 5, living in an alternate Earth where Quentin Beck (aka Mysterio) had taken over Stark Industries and constructed an army of autonomous murder-bots.
This Multiversal story will likely not come back in any meaningful way in Ironheart, as it existed outside the current MCU timeline, but it did offer fans a chance at seeing more of Riri Williams' proclivity for crimefighting long before her Disney+ show saw the light of day.
