Zeke Stane’s MCU Return Potential After Ironheart Addressed By Alden Ehrenreich

Published Oct 29, 2026, 6:35 PM EDT Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty. However, one of his proudest achievements is editing a Leonardo DiCaprio freakout compilation that has over 150K views on YouTube. Adam also fancies himself an amateur film critic on his personal website. Alden Ehrenreich addresses Zeke Stane's potential return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after debuting in Ironheart. After playing a young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the actor made the jump to the MCU in the Disney+ series Ironheart (2025), starring as Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane, a tech ethicist with a shady side hustle in black-market arms dealing. As the son of Tony Stark's former mentor-turned-enemy Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) from Iron Man (2008), Zeke adopts the rather unassuming alias "Joe McGillicuddy." Now, during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz, Alden Ehrenreich addressed the possibility of Zeke Stane returning to the MCU. Asked if his character might "come back around," the actor said there is a chance he might return, as the character's potential for growth was a major reason he signed on in the first place. Read his full comments or watch the portion of the video below: Maybe. Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. I mean, I like the part. That's part of why I said yes is I thought the role actually had a lot of places it could go and grow. I thought that was actually really appealing to me because I found that really interesting. So that was a lot of what I did it and Chinaka Hodge who wrote it and was the showrunner is fantastic and she's now a part of our playwright circle at my theater. Premiered in 2025, Ironheart follows MIT student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) who, following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), returns home to Chicago with the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man and discovers secrets that pit technology against magic. Ironheart's cast also includes Lyric Ross, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam, Anji White, Jim Rash, Eric André, Cree Summer, Sonia Denis, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Shakira Barrera, Anthony Ramos, Regan Aliyah, Paul Calderón, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Over a year after its release, Ironheart has not been officially renewed for a second season, and at this point, it seems unlikely, as the show was developed as a six-episode limited series. Executive producer Ryan Coogler and his production company, Proximity Media, also concluded their deal with Disney and will now produce content exclusively for Netflix, further reducing the chances of a direct continuation. At the same time, Zeke Stane's future in the MCU remains unclear. During Ironheart's ending, Riri Williams helps free Zeke from the control of The Hood, though lingering resentment and tension remain between them. Though Ehrenreich has expressed interest in returning to continue the character's story, it's unclear if Zeke Stane will appear in upcoming projects like Armor Wars or future Avengers films. Release Date 2025 - 2025 Network Disney+ Directors Sam Bailey, Angela Barnes Cast Dominique Thorne Riri Williams / Ironheart Lyric Ross N.A.T.A.L.I.E.