Upcoming Marvel Show Will Reportedly Introduce MCU's First Transgender Character

Ironheart, the upcoming Disney Plus Marvel series, is reportedly set to introduce the MCU's first openly transgender character.

The in-development TV series has already cast the excellent Dominique Thorne (Judas And The Black Messiah) as the show's lead. She'll be playing Riri Williams, a young genius who builds her very own, highly advanced suit of Iron Man armour and becomes the superhero known as Ironheart.

There's plenty for Marvel fans to be excited about in the next few months. Take a look at the Ms. Marvel trailer below!

A recent casting call allegedly seen by POC Culture (via NME) appears to confirm that Marvel is currently looking for a “Black, Latina or Afro-Latina transgender woman who is around 18-22 years old” to play an unnamed character who is “unapologetically nerdy” with a “mystical bent and unique sense of humour”.

Ironheart currently has a rough release window of 2023, but not much is known about the show beyond Thorne's casting at the moment. We can assume that the series will take place post-Avengers Endgame, and examine the rise of a new hero in the wake of Tony Stark's death.

It's taken Marvel far too long, but it has (very slowly) been getting better at LGBTQ+ representation. Loki confirmed that the titular god of mischief is bisxual, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals also introduced the MCU's first openly gay superhero with Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry.

And while it's yet to be explored onscreen, Tessa Thompson has confirmed that Valkyrie is bisexual. No doubt the upcoming Thor: Love And Thunder will address this in some capacity.

While we wait for official confirmation from Marvel, Thorne's Riri Williams is set to make her big MCU debut in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever alongside returning stars Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba, Daniel Kaluuya, and Letitia Wright