Latest news with #DominiqueThorne
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ironheart star didn't know Mephisto was in the Marvel show until they actually started shooting his scenes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ironheart star Dominique Thorne, who plays the titular tech prodigy Riri Williams, has revealed that even she wasn't immune to Marvel secrecy: she didn't know villain Mephisto would be in the series until she was getting to film scenes with Sacha Baron Cohen. "I didn't know he would show up until we started filming, actually," Thorne told The Hollywood Reporter. "We were finally up to that portion of our filming, so definitely the wind down. And for the duration of the shoot, we had faux names. We talked a lot about Dormammu, and we kind of focused on him but it wasn't until we were getting ready to shoot that scene with Sacha Baron Cohen that I even knew [that was him]." Mephisto originated in Marvel Comics in the '60s and fans have been convinced he would appear in the MCU since 2021's WandaVision. He finally appeared on screen in the Ironheart finale, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and was revealed to be the source of Parker's mystical, corrupting cloak. He goes on to try and convince Riri to make a deal with him – but what exactly that might entail, and whether Riri actually agrees to it, is left ambiguous. "I think it's perfect, especially in the MCU, to not really have certainty over anything until it's kind of spelled out," Thorne told the publication. Next up for the MCU is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which arrives in UK cinemas on July 24 and US theaters on July 25 as the first installment of Marvel Phase 6. While we wait, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows still to come in 2025 and beyond.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Is [SPOILER]? The Latest Big Marvel Reveal Explained
Ironheart Agatha All Along. It was Mephisto all along! More from Deadline 'Ironheart' Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive? Who Is Joe Locke's Mysterious 'Teen' In 'Agatha All Along'? All The Clues So Far Dominique Thorne Unpacks Riri's Deal With The Devil In 'Ironheart' Finale Sacha Baron Cohen's Mephisto makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in final episode of Ironheart, and fans have been waiting for this character to arrive for quite some time. While some speculated he may make an appearance in Agatha All Along, theories about his eventual introduction into the MCU have been picking up steam since WandaVision. In Ironheart, we learn that Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos) aka The Hood has been slowly corrupted by the red cape he wears throughout the six-episode series. It's not until the finale that we understand why. As it turns out, the cape was imbued with its nefarious powers by Mephisto. He visits Parker in the final episode and, eventually, strikes a deal with Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) to combine her genius with his magic. Given some of the storylines that Marvel has been focusing on lately, from Agatha All Along to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, this seems like perfect time to introduce Mephisto. Who Is Mephisto? Short for Mephistopheles, the demon was actually popularized by Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, a 16th century play about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for magical power. In fact, Ironheart teases Mephisto's eventual arrival very early on, when Riri asks N.A.T.A.L.I.E. — the AI that Riri accidentally models after her dead best friend — why she glitched while standing in front of a wall covered in posters for the German play Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's interpretation of the same myth. A big bad in the comics, Mephisto has been around for a really long time. He has a traditionally devil-like appearance in the comics (think: scary red guy with horns), though so far we haven't seen that side of him in the live-action MCU. He's also come in contact with many of the MCU's biggest heroes including Thor, Doctor Strange and even Spider-Man. Among his many nefarious deeds, Mephisto is responsible for the corruption of both Norman and Harry Osborn as well as Phil Coulson and Otto Octavius. He is also the manipulative force from whom Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) borrowed two lost souls to create her twin sons, Billy and Tommy. When the demon returned to take back the souls, the pair, both heavily influenced by Wanda, defeated him and became reincarnated as human boys. Billy turned into the son of Jeff (Paul Adelstein) and Rebecca Kaplan (Maria Dizzia). He grew up in New York City, and he renamed himself Wiccan, soon becoming a young avenger with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton). Interestingly, this is not exactly how the MCU has introduced Wanda's children. In the live-action canon, Billy's stint as a human boy before Agatha All Along is a byproduct of the destruction of Westview, the town where Wanda had kept residents under a hex so she could live out her dream life with Vision and their kids post-Endgame. Connections to Agatha All Along and WandaVision Billy's MCU debut was shrouded in speculation in Agatha All Along. By the end of Jac Schaeffer's WandaVision follow up, Joe Locke's character identity — first only known as Teen — was, indeed, confirmed to be Billy Maximoff, the son of Wanda with chaos magic powers. In the third episode of the series, potions witch Jenn (Sasheer Zamata) mentioned Mephisto at the first trial on the Witches' Road. Agatha All Along played with the identities of Agatha's dead son as well as Billy, who wanted to venture down, down, down the road to find his lost brother Tommy, sometimes suggesting they could be switched around. At the luxurious beach house, Jenn mentioned the demon in reference to Agatha's son. 'They say that nobody really knows what happened to him,' Jennifer says. 'They say he might be dead. Others say he might be a demon or an agent of Mephisto. But hey, that's what happens when you have Agatha Harkness as your mom. I doubt she'd even recognize her own son if he showed up on her doorstep.' A fiery winged creature in Episode 4 of Agatha All Along may have brought some to do a double take to analyze whether that was Mephisto, but it was actually the manifestation of Alice's (Ali Ahn) family curse. Who Is Black Heart? Mephisto's introduction raises many questions, including whether or not his son Blackheart will eventually join the fold as well. There were a few hints in Agatha All Along that could indicate that is the case. In Episode 2 of Agatha All Along, Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone) says that the list of necessary witches to complete the Witches Road includes a 'black heart' in lieu of a name for their Green Witch. They initially believe that Mrs. Hart aka Sharon Davis will be able to perform the necessary earth magic, but it turns out the black heart is actually referencing Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal, who is revealed to be Death by the end of the series. The clue also called back to Rio's self-described 'black heart' that beats for Agatha. Some thought she could represent the gender-swapped child of Mephisto with a probable connection to Wiccan, as she did appear in Westview around the time that Billy came looking for Wanda. Given the Mephisto-Wanda connection, it makes sense that her children would one day come in contact with the demon in the MCU. At the end of Agatha All Along, Wiccan sets out with Agatha to find his brother, Tommy, setting up for a potential run-in with Mephisto as well as the introduction of Blackheart in the future. RELATED: Best of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'The Gilded Age' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Lyric Ross Cherishes Her AI Natalie in ‘Ironheart'
[This story contains spoilers from the finale.] It's hard to forget Lyric Ross as Deja in This Is Us. At such a young age, she delivered a standout performance. For some actors, that can be a hard act to follow in adulthood. Not for Ross. As the AI version of Riri Williams' best friend Natalie in Marvel Studios' Ironheart series on Disney+, Ross has been one of the show's many unexpected delights. More from The Hollywood Reporter Where and When to Watch 'Thunderbolts*' Online 'Ironheart' Review: Marvel's 'Black Panther' Spinoff Finds Its Voice Between a Clumsy Pilot and a Frustrating Finale Dominique Thorne Shares Robert Downey Jr.'s Reaction to 'Ironheart': "He Immediately Just Got It" Black Panther fans first met Ironheart's Dominique Thorne's Riri in Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever three years ago, but her character actually first appeared in the comics in 2016 in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3 #7. After several other comic appearances, she got her own standalone Ironheart comic in 2018. A teenage prodigy from the South Side of Chicago, Riri attends MIT with every intention of following in Tony Stark's or, rather, Iron Man's, footsteps. Lack of finances, however, complicates that goal in the Ironheart series created by playwright and former Snowpiercer staff writer Chinaka Hodge, which released its season finale on Tuesday. Produced by Ryan Coogler, Ironheart showed a fallen hero in Riri. Her attempts to stay at MIT by any means necessary get her expelled, sending her back home to Chicago without any legitimate way to move forward with her own plans. Back home, she got mixed up with a nefarious group of hackers led by Anthony Ramos' character The Hood. But she also has to face the hole left in her heart from losing her stepfather Gary (Chicago PD's LaRoyce Hawkins) and best friend Natalie to violence. In her grief, she produces an AI version of her best friend whose loss is also felt by Xavier (Matthew Elam), Natalie's brother and maybe Riri's potential love interest. Ross spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about what makes her AI Natalie different from the real Natalie, how she and Thorne created their best friend chemistry, why Ironheart has been a great follow-up to This Is Us, filming in her native Chicago, ignoring the backlash and if we will see more of AI Natalie moving forward. *** Who is the real Natalie and who is the AI Natalie? I think the AI Natalie is that light you can't put out even if you try. She is there to stay whether you like it or not. Very determined, little to no fear, which is one of the things I loved about her. You don't see her getting shaken up by anything really. She takes on challenges seamlessly. The real Natalie is a friend, nurturer, supporter. She's everything that she says she is, in all her confidence, and nobody can tell her different. She embraces challenges like AI Natalie, just with that confidence that she can do anything and everything. And she is always there for her friend Riri. So very similar, but, at the same time, they have their different struggles. We haven't really seen much of the real Natalie. It's more so been flashbacks, but we get to come back to her at the end of the show and see she's a little more calm than AI Natalie, who's kind of all over the place and a very big personality, which they both have, but she's just a little bit more that in who she is, and she understands that and everything that comes with it. So, just different little things. She's very smart. The AI Natalie does things that I don't think she's supposed to be able to do. Oh, absolutely. And that is all shout out to Riri because that is her creation. [AI Natalie] couldn't do that alone, and, of course, [Riri] didn't do it on purpose, which shows you where her mind can go, the fact that she created something that she wasn't supposed to create that was bigger than her own vision should say a lot. Talk about how you and Dominique built the chemistry that we see, because it's quite electric. It seems like it was there from the jump. From our first chemistry read and through our rehearsals, it just stayed consistent. Of course, we put our efforts in just being around each other and having conversations and lunches, if we could. We didn't always have that much time to just hang, but we would take some moments to just be in each other's presence and talk things out, laugh and just hash out random things. So, it was pretty easy and relaxing for me. Let's talk about what AI Natalie represents, because at the end of the day, it's still grief because, at the end of the day, she's lost her friend to gun violence. I think one of the beautiful things about their dynamic is that Riri is forced to grieve in a way. She's been running away from all of that for I don't know how long, and rightfully so, nobody wants to relive those things in order to heal. But what Natalie comes with is a lot of accountability, a lot of honesty, vulnerability, and [Riri] learns a lot throughout that, I guess, new relationship and the contrast between the real Natalie and the AI Natalie. It's a lot to learn between the two and how to deal with tragedy like that, especially when it hits so close to home. Natalie's brother Xavier or Xay, as he's affectionately known, has a very different reaction to AI Natalie. I would, too. It makes a lot of sense where AI Natalie is coming from, but she's focusing on the joy and happiness of all these memories that she's getting, not necessarily the bad part of whatever these people that were affected by those events are going through. It seems like she's blinded by all of the positivity coming from those memories, so she doesn't give room to understand the fact that it's not going to be the same with the people who are affected. And that comes with understanding humans and how they work, understanding that she is not human so she's not going to feel the same in any way. Even though she gets a sense of emotions, the human way of things is a lot harder to understand. Tech is easy for her. She's up for this new challenge of understanding what it means to live, what reality is. So, it's a pretty complex situation. Talk a little bit about playing Deja on for so long and then being able to go into a completely different project. How gratifying is that? And what are the things that you learned playing Deja that help with this role? This whole Ironheart Natalie situation was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something completely different from Deja and from myself. I heard a lot of horror stories about people being on a show for however many years and not doing much outside of that, and they kind of get stuck in that cycle or rhythm that whatever show brings, and I didn't want to be like that. I was trying to find something that would really break me out of that shell. I [thought] a low budget indie film, but Marvel came along and they said they wanted me to be a part of this journey. I was really excited and really scared at the same time. This is unlike anything that I've ever done, but I wanted to check my range as an actor and as a creative to see what I can do, and that's still the journey that I'm on for whatever my next project will be. And how dope was it to be able to do it in a project set in your city? I was super excited. One of the things that I dreamed of when I was little is getting to go to work downtown in the city, just to do something. I didn't care if it was extra work on Chicago Fire. That was Hollywood to me. I loved seeing the skyscrapers while getting to do what I love. So the fact that I was being taken out of my home in L.A. for however many years just to come back to do something on this scale is, I don't know, I can't explain it. It was that personal to me, and to my folks. All my family is from Chicago. It's a really cool situation that I couldn't come up with myself. That was God. Given all the backlash to before people even saw it, how gratifying is it to see the outpouring of love afterwards? Knowing in your heart that you had done something that was spectacular, how special is it to see people feel that and give you that love back? Absolutely. There was a lot of heart behind it. I knew what we put into it was what we were going to get out of it, whether it looked that way or not. I just knew that that was going to happen. And the fact that people were saying all these horrible things about it without it coming out yet, some people were talking about it before the trailers came out, with the obnoxious actions of that, you've got a choice of what you can believe: Believe in what you did or believe in what the people are saying. I appreciate the love that this show has been getting, but even if there wasn't love at the end of the day, we still made something very special. People are entitled to their own opinions, but I've seen everybody's hard work, day in and day out, blood, sweat and tears. There was so much passion from everybody coming into this show and the fact that we could come together and just take in everything that we've made, it all turned out beautifully. We're sad because it looks like Natalie has gone away. Do you envision an world in which we get more Natalie? I hope that we get more Natalie. There's more for me to explore about her. I know for sure that five months or so was not enough. Selfishly, I want Natalie back. But we will see. I haven't heard anything, so y'all just might find out at the same time I do. *** All six episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
Gizmodo
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Watch Robert Downey Jr. Geek Out About ‘Ironheart' for 14 Minutes
It's still unclear what impact, if any, the events of Ironheart will have on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but at least one person in it has already felt the effects. That would be Robert Downey Jr., the former Tony Stark, current Victor Von Doom and basically the Godfather of the MCU. Downey is a busy man, but he still found time to sit down with Ironheart star Dominique Thorne to geek out about the show for 14 minutes, and it's just a delight. In what's apparently just part one of two from a larger conversation, Marvel just posted Downey and Thorne talking about the first three episodes of Ironheart. They're going to talk about the last three eventually too. But, here, Downey asks Thorne all about her process, specific scenes, character choices, and so much more, all as he contextualizes the latest show into the larger scope of the franchise. Check it out. And while there aren't any major revelations there, you can just tell that Downey is being totally sincere about his love of this show. He's a great actor, clearly, but he wouldn't have done this kind of promotion for a show he didn't actually care about and enjoy. And he seems genuinely curious and excited about everything Thorne has to say. Now, I do wish they were able to at least talk a bit more about spoilers since this is out weeks after those episodes first dropped. For example, I would love to hear Downey's thoughts about Alden Ehrenreich's character since he's so wrapped up in the history of Iron Man. But maybe that comes in the next installment. And maybe we'll see what the latest MCU mega-villain has to say about that other new MCU mega-villain. All episodes of Ironheart are now on Disney+ and, like Robert Downey Jr. says, they're great. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ironheart Head Writer Shares the Sweet, Real-Life Inspiration for Landon, the Kid With the Wagon
Marvel Television's Ironheart opened with a sequence that resulted in 'bad girl genius' Riri Williams' (Dominique Thorne) expulsion from MIT. As she flew home to Chicago — in her self-made supersuit — the school-assigned AI assistant glitched out, leading to a very bumpy landing. Helping Riri complete the final blocks of her trip home, by lugging the pieces of her busted suit in his wagon — in trade for an Andrew Jackson, mind you — was a local youth named Landon, played by Harper Anthony. Landon would resurface later in the six-episode season, as part of the team of friends and family that helps Riri re-re-rebuild her suit, in time for a pivotal face-off with The Hood. More from TVLine Is Leanne Morgan Sitcom Reba Redux? Did Bear 'Cave' Grow? Does Last of Us News Bode Well for Part III Game? Did Lucifer Botch Beach Pick? And More TV Qs! Save the Dates: Delayed Digman! Season 2, Eyes of Wakanda and More Marvel's Big TV Teases: Will Mephisto Go the Way of the Power Broker, Hulk's Son, Super Skrull G'iah...? When I hopped on my recent Zoom with Ironheart head writer Chinaka Hodge and fellow EP Ryan Coogler, I couldn't help but first acknowledge the series' young cast. Led by Thorne but also featuring great work by Lyric Ross (as N.A.T.A.L.I.E.) and scene stealer Regan Aliyha (as Zelma), the cast, I noted, was 'dynamite — down to the kid with the wagon!' Both Hodge and Coogler replied to my kudos with appreciative clapping, after which the former elaborated on the series' youngest character. 'Thank you for bringing up 'the kid with the wagon,'' she said. 'That's the one character that doesn't exist in publishing, and is the one character that came from my mind. And I love Landon the character and Harper the actor infinitely.' Hodge went on to explain Landon's origin. 'I stared writing this during the COVID/shelter in place era, and there was a kid who lived on my block named Landon,' she shared. 'He would come over and poke his nose in — 'What are you doing, Miss 'Naka, what are you writing? What's this show, what's this show? Can you put me in this show? Put me in this show!'' And when all was said and done, there a young boy named Landon is, helping out one of Marvel's newest heroes. 'So I'm very glad that Landon lives' as a character, 'and Harper makes him sing,' Hodge smiled. Want scoop on any Marvel TV show? Shoot an email to InsideLine@ and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Yellowjackets' Tawny Cypress Talks Episode 4's Tai/Van Reunion: 'We're All Worried About Taissa' Vampire Diaries Turns 10: How Real-Life Plot Twists Shaped Everything From the Love Triangle to the Final Death Vampire Diaries' Biggest Twists Revisited (and Explained)
