Alden Ehrenreich's Rumored Marvel Villain Has A Huge Iron Man Connection

Alden Ehrenreich, known for his roles in films like "Oppenheimer" and "Solo," will soon make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and he may be playing a character with a surprising connection to the "Iron Man" movies. In 2022, Ehrenreich joined the cast of the upcoming Disney+ miniseries "Ironheart," which stars Dominique Thorne as the titular hero. While the specifics of the actor's role in the project were not initially disclosed, a 2023 copyright filing revealed that he is portraying a character named Joe McGillicuddy. Despite this information, there are also rumors swirling that the McGillicuddy moniker may be an alias for a different, much more significant figure.

According to a report on X (formerly known as Twitter) from established industry insider and leaker @canwegetsometoast, Ehrenreich is actually playing Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane in "Ironheart." That name might sound familiar to longtime MCU fans, as the character is historically portrayed in comics as the son of the Marvel villain Obadiah Stane aka Iron Monger, who Jeff Bridges portrayed in 2008's "Iron Man." Per the rumor, Thorne's Ironheart seeks out Ehrenreich's tech-savvy Zeke in the hopes of being able to upgrade her suit armor.

If Alden Ehrenreich really is playing Zeke Stane in "Ironheart," then Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams would do well to keep her guard up around him. After all, Zeke has garnered quite the storied history in Marvel Comics since his debut in 2008, and he's not standing on the side of the superheroes — at least, not usually.

In his main comic book iteration, Zeke is depicted as the secret son of Iron Man's nemesis Obadiah Stane. Hidden away from the public eye, Obadiah raises Zeke to become a scientific and technological genius while also imbuing him with a deep hatred of Tony Stark. Following the death of his father, Zeke seeks revenge on Iron Man and masterminds a plot to take down his self-proclaimed nemesis. Things just get far more complicated from there, as Zeke essentially becomes a dark Iron Man counterpart before unexpectedly teaming up with his arch-enemy to take down the Mandarin.

All told, Zeke typically operates in shades of gray, and there's no telling if he'll shift his alignment at any given point. Whether Ehrenreich's potential MCU version of Zeke tends more towards the side of good or evil remains to be seen, but with Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man out of the picture already, there's room for plenty of surprises with the character.