Marvel's Ironheart Receives MCU Update After Delay

Marvel just gave fans an update on what's happening with Ironheart. ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast sat down with Marvel head of streaming Brad Winderbaum to talk about X-Men '97. However, near the end of the conversation, the producer dropped some information about Ironheart and the delays. Dominique Thorne's hero is still coming. But, there's going to be a little wait for her appearance on Disney+.

It's been well-documented that there's some adjustment going on with the Disney+ MCU release schedule. Winderbaum acknowledges the role of the larger business desires with streaming. Now, with Disney CEO Bob Iger talking about narrowing down projects and the like, Marvel Studios has the luxury of really refining everything coming out.

 "I mean, frankly, in all honesty, there was a mandate to kind of create as much as we could for Disney+ as quickly as we could," Winderbaum said in the interview. "And then there was a shift. And all of a sudden, we have to start spreading our release dates out. So, that really accounts for a lot of the delays." "Now, we're using that time. We're not sitting idle. So, it's like it stays in the oven. You can bake certain things a little more. It's actually, I think, ultimately, it's only going to make things better. But, most of it is just frankly shrapnel from the business." 

Nova Coming To The MCU

Winderbaum wasn't done breaking the Internet it seems. He told ComicBook.com that Marvel Studios is in early development on a Nova project. While things are still in the early stages, there are a lot of comics fans who would love to see any version of the character pop-up. Winderbaum clearly loves Richard Rider and all versions of the concept. (He had to be thrilled with that fun episode of What If…? Season 2.) Still, these things take time, and they're working to get this one right. 

 "We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova. We have a new system behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios," Winderbaum said. "We're more like a traditional studio now. We're developing more than we actually will produce. There are plans to develop Nova. I love Nova, too. I love Rich Rider, too. I hope it gets to the screen. The world is always chaos. There's always things. You gotta conjure these things to make them happen but I would love to see a Nova show, one day."

Why Were People Worried About Ironheart?

Fans became even more concerned about Ironheart after Bob Iger's recent comments at a Morgan Stanley Conference. The Disney CEO admitted that their studios have been secretly cancelling movies. The focus on theatrical strategy was apparent, but with shows getting canceled across the industry left and right, fans were going to be a bit nervous. Still, it looks like a lot of the Marvel stuff is safe for now. Here's what the executive said back then.

"You have to kill things you no longer believe in, and that's not easy in this business, because either you've gotten started, you have some sunk costs, or it's a relationship with either your employees or with the creative community," Iger told the assembled press. "It's not an easy thing, but you got to make those tough calls. We've actually made those tough calls. We've not been that public about it, but we've killed a few projects already, that we just didn't feel were strong enough."

Does this make you feel better about Ironheart? Let us know down in the comments!