RuPaul's Drag Race icon Shea Couleé joins Marvel universe as Ironheart series regular

EW has confirmed the All Stars 7 finalist will be a regular cast member in a mystery role on the Disney+ series.

Superhero of drag Shea Couleé is now officially a part of Marvel's superhero realm.

EW has confirmed that the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7 finalist has boarded Disney+'s upcoming Ironheart TV show as a series regular, though sources close to the project could not confirm the exact role she will play or if the All Stars 5 winner will be in or out of drag.

Based on the comic book character of the same name, Ironheart follows Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) as a genius inventor who devises an armor suit that rivals that of Iron Man's.

RuPaul's Drag Race All, Ironheart
'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7' queen Shea Couleé is joining Disney+ 'Ironheart' series starring Dominique Thorne at Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart. Vijat M for EW; Marvel Comics

Although we don't yet know her character, the queen does already have a special connection to Marvel lore. In December 2018, the Iceman comics series introduced a drag queen character called Darkveil/Darnell Wade, who was reportedly inspired by multiple Drag Race personalities — including Shea.

"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-tos," creator Sina Grace previously told Drag Race production company World of Wonder in an interview. "Honestly, 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 loves me some Naomi Smalls, but I wanted a full-bodied queen. I designed the outfit thinking, 'What kind of iconic [looks] would she serve at an X-Men-sponsored event? Pouches, X-belts galore!'"

Sam Bailey is set to direct the Chinaka Hodge-created Ironheart series alongside Angela Barnes.

Thorne will make her Marvel debut in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie, the new trailer for which briefly showed Shuri (Letitia Wright) greeting her Riri character.

In addition to finishing as a finalist on All Stars 7, Shea previously starred in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 televised fashion show in 2020 in addition to acting in the Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch Paramount+ special in 2021.

Subscribe toEW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including weekly All Stars 7 recaps and reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

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