Chinaka Hodge Named Head Writer for Disney's 'Ironheart'

Disney+ has named Oakland native and screenwriter, poet, and playwright Chinaka Hodge as the head writer for its new Ironheart series. Hodge was selected after pitching her vision for all six episodes of the show to Marvel. The writer’s room will open in May.

Born and raised in Oakland, Hodge graduated from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in May of 2006. She has written multiple plays, including Mirrors in Every Corner and Chasing Mehserle, as well as two books, For Girls With Hips: Collected Poems and Writings and Dated Emcees. Her past writing credits include the TNT series adaptation of Snowpiercer starring her friend, longtime collaborator, and fellow Oakland native Daveed Diggs, as well as the Apple reboot of Amazing Stories.

Hodge previously partnered with Shang-Chi and Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler to develop the television drama series Minors, which draws on Coogler and Hodge’s experiences growing up in the Bay and working with underserved youth.

Dominique Thorne will star in Ironheart as Marvel character Riri Williams, an inventive 15-year-old MIT student who reverse-engineers Iron Man’s armor to create her own suit.