South Side writer Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola has reportedly joined the cast in the upcoming Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series Ironheart in a currently undisclosed role, where she will star alongside Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) as the titular hero. The report of her casting comes from Deadline.
Olayiwola is a comedian that has previously opened for the likes of Arsenio Hall, Hannibal Burress, Aida Rodriguez, and Michael Che, among others. She is also a writer and actress, currently acting as a staff writer on the previously announced South Side over at HBO Max with other television credits including HBO’s Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show, NBC’s Chicago P.D., and The Late Show.
Her other upcoming projects include the new season of Sherman’s Showcase for IFC and AMC, serving as both a writer and costar, as well as Netflix's animated remake of Good Times. Olayiwola will be joining previously announced cast members that include Thorne as well as Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Manny Montana (Good Girls), Lyric Ross (This Is Us), Harper Anthony, Alden Ehrenreich, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah (XO, Kitty), and RuPaul's Drag Race winner Shea Coulée.
Ironheart will see Chinaka Hodge (Snowpiercer) serve as the series' showrunner as well as a co-writer alongside Eve Ewing. The six-episode series will see Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes directing with Ryan Coogler's Proximity serving as one of the production companies. Ryan and Zinzi Coogler, Hodge, and Sev Ohanian will serve as executive producers alongside Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout.
The Ironheart character first made her appearance in 2016 as a part of the Invincible Iron Man comics, with the upcoming series set to tell the story of the 15-year-old genius named Riri Williams, played by Thorne, who is able to build her own Iron Man suit and sees her becoming the titular hero. Similar to Olayiwola, most of the announced cast members are also having their characters kept under wraps, with the only known role besides Thorne being Ross, who will be playing Williams' best friend, and Ramos as The Hood, a major Marvel antagonist.
First announced in December 2020, Ironheart will be a part of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will be kicking off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which is set to premiere on February 17, 2023. Other projects that are set to be part of the phase include the Disney+ miniseries Secret Invasion, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the second season of Loki, among others.
The Ironheart series flies onto Disney+ in late 2023. Thorne will make her official debut as Riri Williams in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, arriving in theaters on November 11. Check out the trailer for the upcoming film down below: