Marvel’s upcoming Ironheart is the perfect opportunity to bring back our beloved Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr., but new casting details revealed for the show indicate that he won’t be returning to the MCU. Fans saw Iron Man die back in Avengers: Endgame a few years ago, but it didn’t take long for them to create theories suggesting different ways he could return. The announcement of the Ironheart series in late 2020 fueled that possibility, as Tony Stark plays a very important role in Riri Williams’ superhero story. However, from the details that were revealed, it is unlikely that the show will include Robert Downey Jr.
One of the biggest theory about the return of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man in the series came as the result of Stark becoming the A.I. of Riri in the comics. The artificial version of Stark was Riri’s equivalent of JARVIS, although it also included a holographic component. Since Avengers: Endgame used the hologram technology for Tony’s eulogy, it seemed the MCU already was laying the groundwork for this possibility. Importantly, this could bring Downey back into the MCU without undoing the death of Tony Stark. This storyline could potentially be the perfect opportunity for Downy to return, however, the show has now cast This is Us star Lyric Ross as Riri’s best friend. At first glance, it seems like the two role doesn’t have anything to do with each other but it does point to Ironheart not using A.I. Tony Stark.
Although the name of Lyric Ross’ role hasn’t been announced yet, the description of her playing Riri Williams’ best friend points to her being Natalie Washington. Natalie was Riri’s best friend until she died as the victim of a drive-by shooting. While the series could change the timing of Natalie’s death, Ross’ casting also points to the show using her as Riri’s A.I. instead of Stark. This happened in the comics as her A.I. transformed itself into an older version of Natalie. NATALIE (Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant & Laboratory Intelligence Entity) then became Riri's primary A.I. as a result.
In the comics, the development of NATALIE only happened after Riri Williams had Tony Stark as an A.I. However, Ross’ casting as Natalie right away might indicate that Ironheart could skip the A.I. Stark storyline. As of now, Lyric Ross became the third cast member for the MCU series, joining Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams and Anthony Ramos as the main villain of the show.
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