Ever since Marvel fans learned that the studio was going to begin taking a new approach to its release strategy, they've been on edge. With reports of cancellations and culls over the past few years, the juggernaut franchise was cutting back to regain its former reputation as an unstoppable titan - something it was still pretty much being even with a few stumbles here and there.
Yes, it wasn't nice to see that the Marvel Cinematic Universe began producing underperforming movies and TV shows for Disney Plus, but it was even less nice to see the shows and movies that we were excited for getting quietly cancelled and replaced with a new wave of projects instead.
In the midst of all the cancellation rumors and reports (which are still circulating because Marvel officially confirms very little these days), there was one series that we all thought was cancelled. After all, it was a regular part of MCU fans' lives and one day Marvel just decided not to continue it. That is, until they did.
Marvel Studios' Legends returns with an episode focused on Ironheart
Marvel Studios' Legends is back! The companion streaming show has returned on the YouTube platform with a new episode that focuses on Riri Williams' journey through the MCU ahead of her return in Ironheart. This is exactly the type of content we used to see before major Marvel releases. However, it has been nearly two years since we've seen an episode of the show.
The series highlights the stars of any upcoming MCU projects, showcasing their MCU journeys that led them to their most recent project. It all started with episodes focused on Wanda Maximoff and Vision ahead of their starring roles in 2021 Disney Plus series WandaVision and has proceeded to spotlight the stars of the various MCU movies and shows since. But, again, it's been a long time since the studio released new episodes, prompting everyone to believe that it had been cancelled.
The most recent installment of Marvel Studios' Legends came at the end of 2023 when a Guardians of the Multiverse episode was released ahead of the holiday-themed What If...? season 2. But there have been plenty of MCU releases since then which should have prompted more episodes of Marvel Studios' Legends, including Echo, Deadpool and Wolverine, Agatha All Along, Captain America: Brave New World, Daredevil: Born Again, and Thunderbolts*. Granted, some of the characters featured in those already had Legends specials, but Echo and Agatha All Along are great cases for projects that could have benefitted from an episode of the companion series considering both of their titular characters only had one other MCU appearance before leading their own shows - just like Ironheart's Riri Williams.
It's also worth pointing out that this episode seems to be exclusively on YouTube. While Season 1 of the series was exclusive to Disney Plus, the second season - which kicked off with episodes focused on Ant-Man, The Wasp, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne ahead of the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - streamed on both services. If this is the launch of the third season, perhaps it will be exclusive to YouTube.
It will be interesting to see if more episodes of Marvel Studios' Legends might come after the Riri Williams episode, but that might not happen this year. Both the remaining cinematic and TV releases for the MCU (The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Wonder Man) are based on new characters, so there can't feasibly be episodes of Legends to accompany them (Wonder Man might get away with one focused on Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery). So we'll eagerly await to see what the future of the show looks like. We're just glad to see that it has one again.
Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, who returns to the MCU after her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The six-part drama premieres with a three-episode debut on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on Disney Plus.