Wednesday, April 28, 2021

MARVEL STUDIOS Gets CHINAKA HODGE as HEAD WRITER for DISNEY+’s “IRONHEART”

 


With exclusive streaming service Disney+, Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios found a ready platform in which to expand their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) through streaming limited series, similar to an earlier deal between Marvel Television and Netflix in the 2010s. While some of the series already released and being planned focus on characters already introduced in MCU films, other shows will debut popular characters from contemporary Marvel Comics, like teen super-heroines Ms. Marvel and Ironheart. The latter has taken a significant step forward in its development towards production, now that is has gotten a head writer.

Variety tells us that screenwriter Chinaka Hodge has been tapped by Marvel Studios to write for their in-development MCU series on Disney+, “Ironheart.” Her selection is highly appropriate, being an African-American screenwriter who will adapt the story of a young African-American genius inventor-turned-hero. Hodge’s previous TV work includes writing for the 2020 revival of Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” anthology on Apple TV+, as well as the series adaptation of the 2013 post-apocalyptic dystopian film “Snowpiercer” on TNT. She is also a member of The Getback, a hip-hop collective which counts among its members TV and stage actor Daveed Diggs, one of the leads for “Snowpiercer.”

“Ironheart” is a Marvel character and comic-book title that is connected to “Iron Man.” Debuting in 2016, Riri Williams is a teenaged prodigy student at MIT who somehow manages to build a working derivative of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor. Her activities while wearing the armor catch the attention of Stark, who becomes her mentor figure and even lets her take the Iron Man mantle during a moment of incapacity. Riri eventually crafts her own heroic identity of Ironheart, having adventures with other young heroes in the Marvel universe. The character was created by comic-book writer Brian Michael Bendis, with initial design by Mike Deodato.

Neither Chinaka Hodge’s representatives nor Marvel Studios have commented on the former’s coming on board the “Ironheart” creative team for Disney+. There is a possibility that this MCU series could tie into another show in development, “Armor Wars” which will star Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, another Iron Man ally. Dominique Thorne (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) has been cast to play Riri Williams.

Image from Screen Rant

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