Ironheart Casts South Side Star Rashida Olayiwola

Principal photography continues on Marvel’s Ironheart, with the upcoming streaming series casting yet another role. While that exact role is still being kept under wraps, new reports suggest Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola has joined the Dominique Thorne-led series. A writer-turned-actress, Olayiwola is currently a staff writer on HBO’s South Side. Other credits on her resume include Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Chicago PD, and The Late Show.

Olayiwola joins a bustling ensemble that includes Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Shakira Barrera, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Shea Couleé, and Zoe Terakes. Sam Bailey and Angrela Barnes are sharing directorial duties on the project, which was written by a room lead by Chinaka Hodge.

Little is known about the series, other than the fact it’ll be the character’s second appearance within the Marvel Cinematic Universe after her debut later this year in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

“I was at home in Delaware and I got a call asking if I would like to play this role. It was the best phone call I could have ever received,” Thorne told Empire Magazine in an interview last year. “I was so shocked, in fact, that there was a considerable lag in the conversation! (laughs) I was waiting for them to say, like, ‘Oh, we’ll send you the sides’ or, ‘Get your tape over to us.’ But there was none of that. It was just like, ‘Would you like to do this?’ It was probably the most unique experience I’ve ever had because there was no audition at all.”

It’s expected Ramos will be playing cult-favorite character The Hood, adding a sense of mysticism to a show otherwise based on technology and the Marvel Universe’s second version of Iron Man.

Ironheart is expected to debut on Disney+ in late 2023. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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(H/T Deadline)