Dominique Thorne had been announced as the MCU’s Riri Williams a.k.a. Ironheart last December, and a lot of fans were wondering when she would make her debut. Rumors had come out that she would be appearing in the Armor Wars series, but it looks like we’ll be meeting this character by next year.
Talking to ComicBook, Marvel head Kevin Feige had announced that Thorne will be making her debut as Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Feige says:
“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first… She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series.”
With Shuri being touted as one of the smartest characters in the MCU, it would make sense that Riri should have some kind of connection. After all, she also has to prove that she’s worthy of the Iron Man mantle by constructing a suit of armor herself; then again, the MCU is free to take some liberties with the character.
I’m just hoping that the movie doesn’t lean in too hard on Vibranium being able to do whatever it needs to do. It’s a durable metal, it’s malleable, but it can also heal things—the rules are out the window. Part of what made Tony Stark so great is that he was able to make the first Iron Man suit “in a cave! With a bunch of scraps!” . Hopefully Riri can prove she has that same kind of mettle.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to come out on July 8, 2022.
