Looks like we may be seeing Riri Williams — aka Ironheart, Tony Stark’s successor— in the MCU sooner than we thought. Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feigeconfirmed toComicBook.comthat actressDominique Thorne, hired to play Williams in the upcoming Ironheart series for Disney+, has been cast in the upcomingBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. With the film’s definitive 2022 release, this means that fans will meet the next in line for the Iron Man throne within the next year.
Feige confirmed the news in an interview promotingShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, discussingBlack Panther’s current shooting schedule in Atlanta: “We’re shootingBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever,right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet inBlack Panther 2first. She started shooting, I think, this week before herIronheartseries.”
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Thorne’s role as Riri Williams was announced in December 2020, when it was revealed that the young genius would be receiving her own Disney+ series. Thorne joins a host of other young actors joining the superhero mega-series, includingHailee Steinfeldas Kate Bishop, the next Hawkeye,Iman Vellanias Kamala Khan, Carol Danvers’ successor as Ms. Marvel, andTatiana Maslanyas Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk.
Riri Williams was first introduced in 2016’sInvincible Iron Man #9, as a fifteen-year-old tech genius who builds her own suit of armor. In the comics, Riri is given Tony Stark’s blessing to become the world’s newest armored hero after using her armor to stop two escaped prison inmates, but presumably, givenRobert Downey Jr.’s exit from the MCU afterAvengers: Endgame, Stark will not feature as heavily — or at all — in her story on film.Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris currently in production in Atlanta, directed byRyan Coogler. Thorne joins returning cast membersLetitia Wright,Danai Gurira, andDaniel Kaluuya, among others, though how big a role she will play in the film has yet to be determined.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverwill premiere in theaters on August 10, 2025.Ironhearthas not yet been given a Disney+ release date.
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