{"id":16187,"date":"2025-06-26T11:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T11:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/16187\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T11:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T11:46:12","slug":"ironheart-head-writer-on-making-riri-williams-unapologetic-and-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/16187\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Ironheart’ head writer on making Riri Williams unapologetic and real"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Chinaka Hodge, it\u2019s important that Riri Williams<\/a> is unapologetic.<\/p>\n

Comparing the young engineering prodigy to the billionaire tech CEO and Avengers founding member Tony Stark, the head writer and executive producer of Marvel\u2019s \u201cIronheart\u201d says she wanted her show\u2019s lead character to share some of that brash confidence to speak her mind yet still feel grounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted her to be unapologetic about her intellect,\u201d says Hodge during a recent Zoom call. \u201cI wanted her to be unapologetic about the people she hung out with \u2014 that they would look and feel like the America we inhabit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really important to me to make a character that didn\u2019t just feel like a superhero in a skirt [but someone with] real dimension, real depth and real challenges and concerns,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Out now on Disney+, \u201cIronheart\u201d follows Riri (portrayed by Dominique Thorne), a 19-year old MIT student introduced in the 2022 film \u201cBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever<\/a>,\u201d as she finds herself back in her hometown of Chicago.<\/p>\n

After getting whisked away to Wakanda to help save the day, Riri is more driven than ever to complete her own version of a high-tech Iron Man-like suit to cement her legacy<\/a>. But unlike Tony or the Wakandans, Riri doesn\u2019t have unlimited resources to do so, which leads her to make some questionable decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Ironheart\/Riri <\/p>\n

Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) in \u201cIronheart.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Jalen Marlowe \/ Marvel)<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s incredibly reverent of Tony Stark [being] ahead of her, but her path is not the same as his,\u201d says Hodge, who can relate to Riri having \u201cno blueprint\u201d for her journey. \u201cHow to empower your idea without resource, without changing your morals, is a really difficult road, and that\u2019s basically where we put Riri for the life of the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared to most of her Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts, Riri is a fairly new character. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, the 15-year-old tech whiz made her comic book debut<\/a> in a 2016 issue of \u201cInvincible Iron Man.\u201d Besides Tony Stark, Riri has crossed paths with characters such as Pepper Potts (Rescue), Kamala Khan<\/a> (Ms. Marvel) and Miles Morales<\/a> (Spider-Man).<\/p>\n

A self-described \u201cMarvel head,\u201d Hodge explains that Riri initially hit her radar because of her friendship with fellow poet and scholar Eve Ewing, who was the writer on the first \u201cIronheart<\/a>\u201d comic book series.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first encounter with Riri was watching Eve literally leave a poetry [event] and say, \u2018I have to go to my house \u2026 I\u2019m working on some cool things,\u2019\u201d Hodge says. \u201cIn a true fan kind of way, I\u2019m interested in characters that look like me, and low-key, Riri really looks like me, [so] I very much leaned in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Ironheart" <\/p>\n

\u201cIronheart\u201d head writer Chinaka Hodge says Riri Williams is in for a difficult road. <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

As she became more familiar with the character, what also struck Hodge, as someone on the autism spectrum, is how Riri can be read as neurodiverse. \u201cOne of the most important things about Riri [is] how she feels like me and my mom and other women who lean into their brains,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Fans of Ironheart from the comics will recognize that elements of Riri\u2019s characterization and backstory draw upon what has been established in the books, but Hodge notes that they were not beholden to those storylines in terms of whom the teen could encounter on the show, regardless of the timeline or dimension. Hodge\u2019s learning curve, however, did include discovering the different levels and types of magic that exist in the broader Marvel universe, as well as potential storylines getting derailed because it fell under another character\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n

Though she is still a teen genius, the Riri in the series is slightly older than in the comics. Hodge also describes this Riri as more of an antihero because she has the potential to land on either side of the hero\/villain line based on the choices she makes.<\/p>\n

Hodge, along with \u201cIronheart\u201d directors Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, sing Thorne\u2019s praises, for her portrayal of Riri and as a collaborator. Hodge calls the Cornell-educated actor \u201ca genius\u201d and says she strove to pull Riri\u2019s dialogue up to the level of Thorne\u2019s intellect, rather than the other way around. Bailey, who directed the first three episodes of the series, says Thorne \u201cbrought such a soulfulness to the character.\u201d And Barnes, who directed Episodes 4 through 6, commends her capacity to be present for her fellow actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exciting to just create the environment to let her do her thing and feel safe within doing that,\u201d Bailey says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIronheart\u201d marks the first time the MCU has spotlighted Chicago, and for the show\u2019s creative team, it was important to get the city right. Hodge, who grew up in Oakland, admits that while she may not have direct knowledge as an outsider, she can relate to how Riri regards her home and wanted to treat the city with respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago\u2019s my favorite cast member,\u201d Hodge says. \u201cI think Riri feels about Chicago how I feel about Oakland. It\u2019s a hometown, but it\u2019s [also] a legacy we\u2019re carrying. Us being from there means something if we do something right with our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

That type of hometown pride was shared by many in the \u201cIronheart\u201d cast and crew. Hodge says the aim was to tap as many Chicago artists and musicians \u2014 from local bucket drummers to cast members like Shea Coule\u00e9 \u2014 to capture the true texture of the city. Among those with strong personal ties to the city is Bailey, who is from Chicago, and Hodge credits the director with helping to bring their vision to life.<\/p>\n

\"seven <\/p>\n

Zoe Terakes, left, Sonia Denis, Shakira Barrera, Dominique Thorne, Shea Coule\u00e9, Anthony Ramos and Manny Montana in \u201cIronheart.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Jalen Marlowe \/ Marvel)<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Chicago has this beautiful chip on its shoulder,\u201d Bailey says. \u201cWe don\u2019t trust a lot of people. We\u2019re very protective of the city and its inhabitants. \u2026 There was a bit of rebelliousness I wanted to capture \u2026 and the different types of people that populate that city, which I don\u2019t feel like we get to see a lot onscreen.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the director of the first half of the series, Bailey\u2019s goal was to set up the backstory and establish the vibrancy of everyone introduced in the early episodes to prepare for the adventure to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really important to really make these characters feel like people and feel like people you wanted to be around and feel like people you want to root for,\u201d says Bailey.<\/p>\n

Among these characters in Riri\u2019s orbit are those she shares a history with, like her mother, Ronnie (Anji White), her close friend Xavier (Matthew Elam) and even the neighborhood\u2019s youngest businessman, Landon (Harper Anthony). But Riri soon finds herself in the company of a new crew led by Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), who some might compare to Robin Hood or a freedom fighter, at least initially. <\/p>\n

Mindful of spoilers, Barnes only teases that the second half of the series involves Riri having to face some of the consequences of choices she made in earlier episodes.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Riri] made this decision to maybe hang out with people that aren\u2019t necessarily the most savory of people,\u201d says Barnes. \u201cThey also have their own reasons for doing what they\u2019re doing, but \u2026 she gets in a little deeper than she imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

A self-proclaimed MCU fan, Barnes emphasizes how the show was intentional in everything from its set pieces to decoration, including how the design for the heads-up display of Riri\u2019s suit was inspired by infographics from the works of W.E.B. Du Bois. But she also recalls the fun they had during production, like flipping a truck and building a White Castle in a parking lot.<\/p>\n

\"Chinaka <\/p>\n

Chinaka Hodge wanted to make sure people could see themselves reflected on the show. <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

For Hodge, \u201cIronheart\u201d marks one of her highest-profile projects to date. The poet and playwright turned to screenwriting after realizing she wanted to expand beyond working in first person and enrolled in USC\u2019s graduate film school in 2010. There, she\u2019d meet fellow student filmmakers like \u201cBlack Panther\u2019s<\/a>\u201d Ryan Coogler<\/a>, who is an executive producer on \u201cIronheart,\u201d and \u201cCreed II\u2019s<\/a>\u201d Steven Caple Jr.<\/a> (\u201cI would just follow Ryan around campus [saying], \u2018Hire me,\u2019\u201d she says. He eventually did.)<\/p>\n

Among the things Hodge was excited about while working on the series was getting to explore larger themes around access, autonomy and safety through specific situations that consider how a young girl from Chicago\u2019s South Side might be perceived differently than Tony Stark for owning a weapons-grade tech suit because of what they look like. She was also eager to populate the show with people who reflect the diversity of the real world. <\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, \u201cyou\u2019re gonna see yourself if you turn on the screen on this show,\u201d says Hodge, who is glad the MCU has moved to \u201cfeel like a universe that\u2019s inhabited by the people who read publishing and go to the movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for the little, quirky Black girl watching the show who sees herself in it [and] for the queer kid who finds it for their Pride Month activities and wants to watch it,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m really excited for that Black boy who wants to play with a Riri Williams action figure and finds it in the store and gets to fly it around his own house. I\u2019m excited and I\u2019m nervous [and] thrilled, and I feel like that\u2019s exactly how Riri feels when she\u2019s flying over the Chicago skyline.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Chinaka Hodge, it\u2019s important that Riri Williams is unapologetic. Comparing the young engineering prodigy to the billionaire…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[16082,3409,1582,276,960,2451,16083,3404,16079,16080,4094,2961,16081,224,5337,16084,3546,16078,6166,4370],"class_list":{"0":"post-16187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-angela-barnes","9":"tag-bailey","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-chicago","13":"tag-city","14":"tag-dominique-thorne","15":"tag-episode","16":"tag-head-writer","17":"tag-hodge","18":"tag-ironheart","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-lead-character","21":"tag-los-angeles","22":"tag-losangeles","23":"tag-member-tony-stark","24":"tag-people","25":"tag-riri-williams","26":"tag-series","27":"tag-show"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114749504510569091","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}