Dominique Thorne will appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Riri Williams

We’ve got some exciting news regarding Dominique Thorne! The actress, set to play Riri Williams a.k.a. Ironheart in a forthcoming Disney+ series, will also be included in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Thanks to Comicbook.com for weaseling the information out of Marvel’s studio president, Kevin Feige. Can we even wait to see this?!

While on the red carpet for the MCU’s latest outing, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Feige told the website that Thorne will actually be first appearing in the film before going on to her own series.

“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first,” Feige said. So it will basically be the opposite of Kang the Conqueror who we met in the Loki series.

Feige then went on to add, “She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series,” making it clear that she will still be getting her own series but we’ll see her in Wakanda first. It’s unclear how long her appearance will be in the film since we know very little about both.

Dominque Thorne will play Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

For those unaware about the character, Riri Williams was created by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato in 2016 for her first appearance in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7. She was later redesigned by Eve Ewing and Kevin Libranda, going on to get her own series in 2018. Williams is a teenage engineering genius, getting into MIT at just 15 years old. She creates an Iron Man suit with scraped parts from the college only to flee when authorities come to investigate.

The character has since gone on to make two animated and five video games appearances since her creation. This film will be her live-action debut and it’s a beautiful incorporation, really. Now that Tony Stark is no longer in the MCU, having an Iron Man “replacement” of sorts is a great way to introduce Williams. Mainly I’m just excited for more black girl magic that I get to witness between Riri Williams, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye.

As mentioned, we still don’t know how the character will be incorporated into the film or even what the film is about. For example, which of the women T’Challa left behind will take on his mantle? Personally, I’m rooting for Shuri but it could be Nakia, we don’t know. Regardless, I’m ready for Shuri and Williams to have all the nerdy tech talk together and build crazy cool suits.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is directed and written by Ryan Coogler. It stars Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, and the newly announced Dominique Thorne. It’s currently slated for a July 8, 2022 release.

What do you think about the news? Are you excited about her inclusion? How many tissues do you have prepared for the film? Let us know in the comments below!