Watch Robert Downey Jr. give ‘Ironheart’ star Dominique Thorne a pep talk

One iron hero is passing the baton to another.

Iron Man alum Robert Downey Jr. celebrated the premiere day of Ironheart on Tuesday by giving his young successor Dominique Thorne a heartwarming pep talk over FaceTime.

“Good morning!” Downey Jr. began the call, which was posted in a video on Instagram. “Guess why I’m calling — it’s June 24, which is … ”

“It’s dad’s birthday,” Thorne responds with a sigh, referencing Downey Jr.’s late father, who died in 2021. “Happy birthday.”

“My dad’s birthday, thanks for your consideration,” Downey Jr. confirms with a smirk, knowing that wasn’t what he was referencing. “Also — God, you’ve been doing too much press — Ironheart premieres today!”

As Thorne screams in excitement, Downey Jr. continues, “It’s all been leading to this. Isn’t that exciting?”

“Oh my God, thank you!” Thorne says. “Thank you for the call.”

“17 years from the birth of the MCU to the premiere of Ironheart,” Downey Jr. says. “And we’re in this love together. So psyched. I’ve grown so fond of you, it’s bananas.”

As Thorne thanks him again, he congratulates her on the launch of her new series. “I’ll be watching it with the world and we’ll keep each other posted,” Downey Jr. says.

“Oh my God, okay, yes we will,” Thorne replies.

“Ironheart, let’s go!” Downey Jr. finishes the call.

Watch the sweet exchange in the video below:

While Thorne and Downey Jr. have yet to cross paths onscreen in the MCU, she’s taking up the iron mantle he left behind after his character Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame (he will return as an entirely new character, the villain Doctor Doom, in Avengers: Doomsday). Thorne reprises her role of Riri Williams a.k.a. the titular Ironheart from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the new Disney+ TV series chronicling Riri’s return to her hometown of Chicago as she becomes tangled up in a criminal crew led by Parker Robbins a.k.a. the Hood (Anthony Ramos).

Downey Jr. recently gave his iron stamp of approval for the new series with a surprise message of support during a live interview with Thorne and Ramos last week on Good Morning America.

“Do you mind if we interrupt the interview for just a moment, because I think we have a very special message. I think you’re going to recognize who this is,” Robin Roberts said, before the show cut to a clip as Thorne and Ramos watched.

“Ms. Thorne, I couldn’t be happier than to be seeing you bring Riri Williams to life,” Downey Jr. said in the pre-recorded message, before turning his focus to Ramos’ upcoming role as the mysterious villain. “But the Hood has me nervous. Is the hood green? Please tell me Mr. Ramos is not replacing me as Doctor Doom via Parker Robbins. Is there something they’re not telling me?”

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The Oscar winner finished the video by making a heart with his fingers, telling the pair, “Long story short, Iron Man loves Ironheart.”

Back in the GMA studio, Thorne flashed the same symbol with her hands as she said, “Ironheart loves Iron Man too.”

Ironheart premieres with the first three episodes on Tuesday on Disney+. The remaining three episodes premiere the following Tuesday, July 1.