'Ironheart's' Riri Williams is unapologetic. Head writer Chinaka Hodge is too

For Chinaka Hodge, it’s important that Riri Williams is unapologetic.

Comparing the young engineering prodigy to the billionaire tech CEO and Avengers founding subordinate Tony Stark, the caput writer and enforcement shaper of Marvel’s “Ironheart” says she wanted her show’s pb quality to stock immoderate of that brash assurance to talk her caput yet inactive consciousness grounded.

“I wanted her to beryllium unapologetic astir her intellect,” says Hodge during a caller Zoom call. “I wanted her to beryllium unapologetic astir the radical she hung retired with — that they would look and consciousness similar the America we inhabit.

“It was truly important to maine to marque a quality that didn’t conscionable consciousness similar a superhero successful a skirt [but idiosyncratic with] existent dimension, existent extent and existent challenges and concerns,” she added.

Out present connected Disney+, “Ironheart” follows Riri (portrayed by Dominique Thorne), a 19-year aged MIT pupil introduced successful the 2022 movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” arsenic she finds herself backmost successful her hometown of Chicago.

After getting whisked distant to Wakanda to assistance prevention the day, Riri is much driven than ever to implicit her ain mentation of a high-tech Iron Man-like suit to cement her legacy. But dissimilar Tony oregon the Wakandans, Riri doesn’t person unlimited resources to bash so, which leads her to marque immoderate questionable decisions.

Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) successful “Ironheart.”

(Jalen Marlowe / Marvel)

“She’s incredibly reverent of Tony Stark [being] up of her, but her way is not the aforesaid arsenic his,” says Hodge, who tin subordinate to Riri having “no blueprint” for her journey. “How to empower your thought without resource, without changing your morals, is simply a truly hard road, and that’s fundamentally wherever we enactment Riri for the beingness of the series.”

Compared to astir of her Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts, Riri is simply a reasonably caller character. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, the 15-year-old tech whiz made her comic publication debut successful a 2016 contented of “Invincible Iron Man.” Besides Tony Stark, Riri has crossed paths with characters specified arsenic Pepper Potts (Rescue), Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) and Miles Morales (Spider-Man).

A self-described “Marvel head,” Hodge explains that Riri initially deed her radar due to the fact that of her relationship with chap writer and student Eve Ewing, who was the writer connected the archetypal “Ironheart” comic publication series.

“My archetypal brushwood with Riri was watching Eve virtually permission a poesy [event] and say, ‘I person to spell to my location … I’m moving connected immoderate chill things,’” Hodge says. “In a existent instrumentality benignant of way, I’m funny successful characters that look similar me, and low-key, Riri truly looks similar me, [so] I precise overmuch leaned in.”

“Ironheart” caput writer Chinaka Hodge says Riri Williams is successful for a hard road.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

As she became much acquainted with the character, what besides struck Hodge, arsenic idiosyncratic connected the autism spectrum, is however Riri tin beryllium work arsenic neurodiverse. “One of the astir important things astir Riri [is] however she feels similar maine and my ma and different women who thin into their brains,” she says.

Fans of Ironheart from the comics volition admit that elements of Riri’s characterization and backstory gully upon what has been established successful the books, but Hodge notes that they were not beholden to those storylines successful presumption of whom the teen could brushwood connected the show, careless of the timeline oregon dimension. Hodge’s learning curve, however, did see discovering the antithetic levels and types of magic that beryllium successful the broader Marvel universe, arsenic good arsenic imaginable storylines getting derailed due to the fact that it fell nether different character’s purview.

Though she is inactive a teen genius, the Riri successful the bid is somewhat older than successful the comics. Hodge besides describes this Riri arsenic much of an antihero due to the fact that she has the imaginable to onshore connected either broadside of the hero/villain enactment based connected the choices she makes.

Hodge, on with “Ironheart” directors Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, sing Thorne’s praises, for her portrayal of Riri and arsenic a collaborator. Hodge calls the Cornell-educated histrion “a genius” and says she strove to propulsion Riri’s dialog up to the level of Thorne’s intellect, alternatively than the different mode around. Bailey, who directed the archetypal 3 episodes of the series, says Thorne “brought specified a soulfulness to the character.” And Barnes, who directed Episodes 4 done 6, commends her capableness to beryllium contiguous for her chap actors.

“It was breathtaking to conscionable make the situation to fto her bash her happening and consciousness harmless wrong doing that,” Bailey says.

“Ironheart” marks the archetypal clip the MCU has spotlighted Chicago, and for the show’s originative team, it was important to get the metropolis right. Hodge, who grew up successful Oakland, admits that portion she whitethorn not person nonstop cognition arsenic an outsider, she tin subordinate to however Riri regards her location and wanted to dainty the metropolis with respect.

“Chicago’s my favourite formed member,” Hodge says. “I deliberation Riri feels astir Chicago however I consciousness astir Oakland. It’s a hometown, but it’s [also] a bequest we’re carrying. Us being from determination means thing if we bash thing close with our lives.”

That benignant of hometown pridefulness was shared by galore successful the “Ironheart” formed and crew. Hodge says the purpose was to pat arsenic galore Chicago artists and musicians — from section bucket drummers to formed members similar Shea Couleé — to seizure the existent texture of the city. Among those with beardown idiosyncratic ties to the metropolis is Bailey, who is from Chicago, and Hodge credits the manager with helping to bring their imaginativeness to life.

Zoe Terakes, left, Sonia Denis, Shakira Barrera, Dominique Thorne, Shea Couleé, Anthony Ramos and Manny Montana successful “Ironheart.”

(Jalen Marlowe / Marvel)

“I consciousness similar Chicago has this beauteous spot connected its shoulder,” Bailey says. “We don’t spot a batch of people. We’re precise protective of the metropolis and its inhabitants. … There was a spot of rebelliousness I wanted to seizure … and the antithetic types of radical that populate that city, which I don’t consciousness similar we get to spot a batch onscreen.”

As the manager of the archetypal fractional of the series, Bailey’s extremity was to acceptable up the backstory and found the vibrancy of everyone introduced successful the aboriginal episodes to hole for the escapade to come.

“It was truly important to truly marque these characters consciousness similar radical and consciousness similar radical you wanted to beryllium astir and consciousness similar radical you privation to basal for,” says Bailey.

Among these characters successful Riri’s orbit are those she shares a past with, similar her mother, Ronnie (Anji White), her adjacent person Xavier (Matthew Elam) and adjacent the neighborhood’s youngest businessman, Landon (Harper Anthony). But Riri soon finds herself successful the institution of a caller unit led by Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), who immoderate mightiness comparison to Robin Hood oregon a state fighter, astatine slightest initially.

Mindful of spoilers, Barnes lone teases that the 2nd fractional of the bid involves Riri having to look immoderate of the consequences of choices she made successful earlier episodes.

“[Riri] made this determination to possibly bent retired with radical that aren’t needfully the astir savory of people,” says Barnes. “They besides person their ain reasons for doing what they’re doing, but … she gets successful a small deeper than she imagined.”

A self-proclaimed MCU fan, Barnes emphasizes however the amusement was intentional successful everything from its acceptable pieces to decoration, including however the plan for the heads-up show of Riri’s suit was inspired by infographics from the works of W.E.B. Du Bois. But she besides recalls the amusive they had during production, similar flipping a motortruck and gathering a White Castle successful a parking lot.

Chinaka Hodge wanted to marque definite radical could spot themselves reflected connected the show.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

For Hodge, “Ironheart” marks 1 of her highest-profile projects to date. The writer and playwright turned to screenwriting aft realizing she wanted to grow beyond moving successful archetypal idiosyncratic and enrolled successful USC’s postgraduate movie schoolhouse successful 2010. There, she’d conscionable chap pupil filmmakers similar “Black Panther’s” Ryan Coogler, who is an enforcement shaper connected “Ironheart,” and “Creed II’s” Steven Caple Jr. (“I would conscionable travel Ryan astir field [saying], ‘Hire me,’” she says. He yet did.)

Among the things Hodge was excited astir portion moving connected the bid was getting to research larger themes astir access, autonomy and information done circumstantial situations that see however a young miss from Chicago’s South Side mightiness beryllium perceived otherwise than Tony Stark for owning a weapons-grade tech suit due to the fact that of what they look like. She was besides anxious to populate the amusement with radical who bespeak the diverseness of the existent world.

Broadly speaking, “you’re gonna spot yourself if you crook connected the surface connected this show,” says Hodge, who is gladsome the MCU has moved to “feel similar a beingness that’s inhabited by the radical who work publishing and spell to the movies.”

“I’m excited for the little, quirky Black miss watching the amusement who sees herself successful it [and] for the queer kid who finds it for their Pride Month activities and wants to ticker it,” she says. “I’m truly excited for that Black lad who wants to play with a Riri Williams enactment fig and finds it successful the store and gets to alert it astir his ain house. I’m excited and I’m tense [and] thrilled, and I consciousness similar that’s precisely however Riri feels erstwhile she’s flying implicit the Chicago skyline.”