Dominique Thorne is set to make her first appearance as Ironheart in the upcoming sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will fortunately again be directed by Ryan Coogler. This will be the follow-up to 2018's Black Panther, which brought the world of Wakanda to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Thorne was first announced as being cast in the role of Riri Williams when Disney Plus' Ironheart series was confirmed last December. In the comics, Riri Williams is a young engineering genius who designs her own version of the Iron Man suit after she gets accepted into MIT. She uses the armored suit to capture a couple of escaped inmates, which prompts Tony Stark to reach out to her for her to become the new armored hero.
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Following the events of Avengers: Endgame there’s no telling if the story will go down exactly the same way. Maybe they will incorporate her recruitment from the people of Wakanda somehow, but only time will tell. Nonetheless, fans are excited about Riri Williams' introduction, especially because of the casting choice. Thorne's other works include If Beale Street Could Talk and Judas and the Black Messiah, inwhich she delivered great performances. During a press run for Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi,Keven Feige confirmed when Thorne's Ironheart will be introduced. “We're shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first," he said. "She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series."
While Ironheart may not be widely known amongst casual fans, real comic book aficionados are aware of how pivotal this character is. Ever since the MCU was announced, fans have been asking for her debut. Many 'MCU Character wishlists' often place her as one of their top 10 characters they would like to see, especially once Iron Man’s popularity started rising in the MCU. Marvel is known for taking heroes who had less popularity than Spider-Man and making them become overnight phenomenons adored by fans. For example, The Guardians of the Galaxy were basically unknown by mass audiences prior to their introduction in the MCU. Given that Ironheart is a genius and will be debuting in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it would be cool to see her display her intellect amongst Wakanda’s engineers considering they’re the world’s leader in almost every field.
The character of Riri lives in Chicago and is a teenager similar to Peter Parker, which is important to note as it seems Marvel is quietly gearing up for the Young Avengers by introducing younger heroes throughout the recent releases. Cassie Lang was introduced in the Ant-Man movies, Billy and Tommy Maximoff were brought in during WandaVision, Kate Bishop will be coming in the new Hawkeye series, Kamala Khan is set to debut in the upcoming Ms. Marvel project, and Yelena Belova was recently introduced in Black Widow.
Many are wondering who’s going to take over as leader of the Avengers following the events of Endgame. While some fans suspect Spider-Man will get that title, it would be even more compelling if Riri Williams takes over that role considering Iron Man was one of the three leaders of the original Avengers. Since she'll be taking over the mantle from Tony Stark, it means she’ll be one of the Avengers' heavy hitters in the Marvel projects to come.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 8, 2022.
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Source: ComicBook
