By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The Drag Race fan-fave has been confirmed as a series regular on the upcoming Ironheart series.
Shea Couleé might have just barely missed snatching the Drag Race All Stars 7 crown, but it seems she may have scored an even better gig. Shea is making the move from super queen to superhero — or is it supervillain? We can’t say for sure since the details are still under wraps, but Entertainment Weekly reports that the fan-fave Drag Race star is headed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (purse first?) in a super-secret role, as a series regular in the upcoming Ironheart show.
Ironheart focuses on the character of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a genius inventor who follows in the footsteps of Ironman by creating her own armor suit. Fans got a brief sneak peek at the character in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer that dropped in July.
While it hasn’t been confirmed, there’s speculation that Shea could be taking on the role of Darkveil, a character created by Sina Grace that was inspired by drag queens, including Shea herself.
“Darkveil (formerly Shade) was inspired by so many drag queens, but I’ve kinda been officially quoted as saying that Shea Couleé, Dax Exclamation Point, The Vixen, and Monét X Change were my main go-to’s,” Grace told World of Wonder in 2019. “I just wondered what my sister’s friend Jomar would look like as a superhero, cuz he was the first ‘gay person’ I’d really gotten to know as a kid, and had the body of a man who wasn’t ‘fit,’ wasn’t ‘fat,’ which I felt was super important to put on the page. Like, I love some Naomi Smalls, but I wanted a full-bodied queen. I designed the outfit thinking, ‘what kind of iconic would she serve at an X-Men-sponsored event? Pouches, X-belts galore!’”
While fans will get to meet Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever when the film premieres November 11, the wait for the Ironheart series is quite a bit longer. Currently, the release is slated for fall 2023. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for more details about Shea’s mysterious character.
RELATED | Here's What You're Missing If You're Not Watching 'Drag Race France'
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
