For Chinaka Hodge, it is important that Riri Williams be without complexes.
Comparing the young engineering prodigy with Billonario Tech CEO and founding member of the Avengers, Tony Stark, the main writer and executive producer of “Ironheart” of Marvel, says he wanted the main character of his program to share something of that imposing confidence to say what you still think about.
“She wanted her to be unattilling about her intellect,” says Hodge during a recent zoom call. “She wanted her to be unhappy about the people she came out, who would look and feel like the America we live.
“It was really important for me to make a character that not only felt like a superhero in a skirt [but someone with] Real dimension, real depth and real challenges and concerns, ”he added.
Now in Disney+, “Ironheart” follows Riri (portrayed by Dominique Thorne), a 19 -year -old MIT student presented in the 2022 film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, while he is back in his hometown of Chicago.
After being taken to Wakanda to help save the day, Riri is more motivated than ever to complete his own version of an Iron Man's high technology suit to consolidate his legacy. But unlike Tony or the Wakandans, Riri has no unlimited resources to do so, which leads her to make some questionable decisions.
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) in “Ironheart”.
(Jalen Marlowe / Marvel)
“She is incredibly reverent to Tony Stark [being] Before her, but her path is not the same as yours, “says Hodge, who can relate to Riri without having” flat “for his trip.” How to empower your idea without resources, without changing your morals, is a really difficult path, and there is basically where we put Riri for the life of the series. “
Compared to most of his marvel cinematic universe counterparts, Riri is a rather new character. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, the 15 -year -old Tech Whiz made his comic debut in a 2016 edition of “Invincible Iron Man”. In addition to Tony Stark, Riri has crossed roads with characters such as Pepper Potts (Rescue), Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) and Miles Morales (Spider-Man).
A self -denied “Marvel Head”, Hodge explains that Riri initially hit his radar due to his friendship with his fellow poet and scholar Eve Ewing, who was the writer of the first comic series “Ironheart”.
“My first encounter with Riri was to see Eve literally leaving a poetry [event] And say: 'I have to go to my house … I'm working on some great things,' “says Hodge. [so] I leaned down a lot.
The main writer of “Ironheart”, Chinaka Hodge, says that Riri Williams is on a difficult path.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
As he became familiar with the character, which also hit Hodge, as someone in the autistic spectrum, is how Riri can be read as a neurodiverse. “One of Riri's most important things [is] How she feels like me, my mother and other women who lean in her brains, ”she says.
Ironheart fans of the comics will recognize that the elements of Riri's characterization and background history are based on what has been established in the books, but Hodge points out that they were not indebted to those stories in terms of which the adolescent could find in the program, regardless of the timeline or dimension line. Hodge's learning curve, however, included discovering the different levels and types of magic that exist in the broader universe of Marvel, as well as the possible stories that were deranged because it fell under the reach of another character.
Although he is still a teenage genius, Riri in the series is a bit older than in comics. Hodge also describes this Riri as more antihero because he has the potential to land on both sides of the Hero/Villain line depending on the elections he takes.
Hodge, together with the directors of “Ironheart” Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, sing the praises of Thorne, for his interpretation of Riri and as a collaborator. Hodge calls the actor educated in Cornell “a genius” and says he struggled to bring Riri's dialogue to Thorne's intellect level, instead of the other way around. Bailey, who directed the first three episodes of the series, says that Thorne “brought such a soul to the character.” And Barnes, who directed episodes 4 to 6, praises his ability to be present for his fellow actors.
“It was exciting to create the environment to let it do his own and feel safe in doing so,” says Bailey.
“Ironheart” marks the first time MCU has highlighted Chicago, and for the creative team of the program, it was important to make the city correct. Hodge, who grew up in Oakland, admits that, although he may not have direct knowledge as strange, he can relate to how Riri considers his home and wanted to treat the city with respect.
“Chicago is my favorite cast member,” says Hodge. “I think Riri feels about Chicago what I feel for Oakland. It is a hometown, but it is [also] A legacy we carry. Being from there means something if we do something well with our lives. “
That kind of pride of the city was shared by many in the Yero “Ironheart”. Hodge says that the objective was to take advantage of the true texture of the city, many artists and musicians from Chicago, from local cubes drums to members of Shea Coulé, to capture the true texture of the city. Among those with strong personal ties with the city is Bailey, who is from Chicago, and Hodge gives the director credit to help give life to his vision.
Zoe Terakes, Left, Sonia Denis, Shakira Barrera, Dominique Thorne, Shea Couleé, Anthony Ramos and Manny Montana in “Ironheart”.
(Jalen Marlowe / Marvel)
“I feel that Chicago has this beautiful chip on his shoulder,” says Bailey. “We do not trust many people. We are very protective with the city and its inhabitants … there was a bit of rebellion that wanted to capture … and the different types of people who populate that city, who do not feel that we see a lot on the screen.”
As director of the first half of the series, Bailey's goal was to establish the background history and establish the vitality of all introduced in the first episodes to prepare for the adventure to come.
“It was really important to make these characters feel like people and feel like people you wanted to be and you feel like people you want to support,” says Bailey.
Among these characters from Riri's orbit are those with whom he shares a story, such as his mother, Ronnie (Anji White), his close friend Xavier (Matthew Elam) and even the youngest businessman in the neighborhood, Landon (Harper Anthony). But Riri is soon in the company of a new team led by Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), whom some could compare with Robin Hood or a fighter for freedom, at least initially.
Aware of the spoilers, Barnes only makes fun that the second half of the series involves Riri who has to face some of the consequences of the elections he took in previous episodes.
“[Riri] He made this decision to hang out with people who are not necessarily tasty people, “says Barnes.” They also have their own reasons to do what they are doing, but … it becomes a little deeper than he imagined. “
A self -proclaimed fanatic of MCU, Barnes emphasizes how the program was intentional in everything, from its established pieces to the decoration, including how the design for the exhibition of the Riri sample was inspired by infographics of the works of Web du Bois. But he also remembers the fun they had during production, such as turning a truck and building a white castle in a parking lot.
Chinaka Hodge wanted to make sure that people could be reflected in the program.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For Hodge, “Ironheart” marks one of its highest profile projects to date. The poet and playwright resorted to scripts after realizing that he wanted Just follow Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan around Ryan. [saying]'Hire me, “she says. Eventually she did).
Among the things that Hodge was excited while working in the series was to explore larger issues about access, autonomy and security through specific situations that consider how a girl on the southern side of Chicago could be perceived differently from Tony Stark for having a technological suit of weapons origin due to what it seems. I was also anxious to populate the show with people who reflect the diversity of the real world.
In general terms, “you will see yourself if you light on the screen in this program,” says Hodge, who is glad that the MCU has moved to “feel like a universe that is inhabited by the people who read the publication and go to the cinema.”
“I am excited by the little and peculiar black girl who looks at the program that looks at herself in him [and] For the queer child who finds him for his activities of the pride month and wants to see him, “he says.” I am really excited by that black boy who wants to play with an action figure by Riri Williams and finds him in the store and flies by his own home. I am excited and I am nervous [and] Excited, and I feel that is exactly how Riri feels when he flies on the Chicago horizon. “
