One of the biggest reveals to come out of Disney's Investors Day last December was the news that Dominique Thorne will play Riri Williams in Disney+'s Ironheart show. Updates were few and far between since, but we now know when the If Beal Street Could Talk star will make her MCU debut as the new Armored Avenger.
Confirming a rumor that did the rounds earlier this year, Kevin Feige has officially announced (via ComicBook.com) that Williams will appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
"We're shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first," Feige revealed while doing press for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. "She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series."
Williams making her debut in the Black Panther sequel raises a few interesting questions. Will the character be retconned to be a Wakandan? Ironheart has travelled to Wakanda in the comics and became friendly with Shuri and Okoye, but only much later in her superhero career. However she ends up being introduced, it sounds like Wakanda Forever is shaping up to be a much bigger event movie than we anticipated.
We still don't know a whole lot about the Marvel sequel, but Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away last August after a 4-year battle with colon cancer, will not be replaced as T'Challa or "resurrected" via CGI. Shuri (Letitia Wright) is the favorite to take up the mantle of Black Panther, but some would prefer to see Winston Duke's M'Baku honor his old foe-turned-ally by assuming the responsibility of Wakanda's protector .
A rumor that Narcos Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta will play Namor in the movie recently did the rounds, but that obviously remains to be seen.
Marvel Studios announced that the highly-anticipated sequel will be titled Wakanda Forever during a recent Phase 4 preview. Specific plot details remain under wraps, but a brief logline tells us that "Wakanda Forever will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film."