It seems like Marvel Studios is, or at least thought about, making an Ironheart movie.
Everybody knows that it's a really bad idea to recast Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's actually the reason why Marvel Comics writer Bob Layton anticipates the character’s death in the untitled fourth Avengers installment. Making Tony pass on the mantle of Iron Man to some other character will likely not sit well with fans either.
But perhaps, introducing a black female character with similar brains and a similar suit but with a different codename could be a wise move. And apparently, that could be the route Marvel is inclined to take. The Black List has revealed on Twitter that a script for a standalone Ironheart movie, penned by screenwriter Jada Rodriguez, has made it to their list and has been well-received by their readers. Check out a brief outline of the script along with the tweet below!
IRONHEART by Jada Rodriguez was one of the best scripts our readers read last week. https://t.co/cGkwm9RLOW pic.twitter.com/O1khyMnqvO
"” The Black List (@theblcklst) July 19, 2018
When a young African American girl loses hope in humanity, she dedicates her life, with the help of Tony Stark, to becoming a superhero"¦ not knowing she is her own worst enemy.
The outline makes it clear that this is indeed a script that tells the story of Marvel Comics' Riri Williams, aka Ironheart. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, she made her first appearance in the May 2016 issue Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7 and went on to lead the series in Tony's absence.
In case you didn't know, the Black List is an annual survey of the most liked movie scripts not yet produced. It provides writers with the opportunity to get their scripts noticed by studios. Many of these scripts have spawned into award-winning movies, including Argo, American Hustle, The King's Speech, Spotlight and The Revenant.
According to That Hashtag Show, there are only two scenarios that could have resulted in Jada Rodriguez's Ironheart script making it to the Black List: either she owns the IP or she has been commissioned by Marvel to pen the script. It's impossible that the studio would sell the IP and allow Tony Stark to be used outside of the MCU. So, Rodriguez must have been hired for the job.
Of course, the script's existence doesn't necessarily mean that an Ironheart movie is still in the works. Earlier this year, Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole revealed that Marvel had appointed him to write a War Machine movie prior to making Iron Man 3. But later, they simply changed their mind. Similar could be the case with Rodriguez's script. Maybe the studio was just considering it as an option for a while.