Riri Williams is coming to the MCU much sooner than we realised.
In Marvel Comics, Riri Williams is considered the female version of Tony Stark and a successor to him. We’ve known for a while that she’d feature in the MCU as the announcement that Dominique Thorne will play the role came in late 2020.
The announcement also came that she’d headline the Disney+ series, Ironheart. What we didn’t know at the time was how she’d slot into the franchise. Well, we have an answer, thanks to Chancellor Agard of Entertainment Weekly.
EW reported last week via a statement by Marvel head Kevin Feige that the tech genius would make her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Though, it is unclear how Riri will factor into the story.
However, Full Circle Cinema’s Jacob Campbell may have given a clue. The outlet found footage from a social media user of scenes currently filming outside MIT. The school is where Riri will be attending university. It also appears that Thorne has only started filming her part in the movie.
The footage in the Full Circle Cinema article shows a car chase. The Marvel Network on Twitter reveals that the scene contains the Dora Milaje.
If MIT is front and centre, perhaps someone is after Riri. Shuri and Okoye will show up, according to Russ Milheim from the MCU Direct.
Riri To Replace Shuri As Wakandan Tech Genius?
Could Riri sit in for Shuri as Wakanda’s go-to techie? After all, the princess may end up being the new Queen of Wakanda and the Black Panther. Speculation has arisen that T’Challa may die in-universe due to the death of Chadwick Boseman.
According to the MCU Direct’s article linked above, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, and Dominique Thorne did separate scenes. Concisely, they don’t appear in the footage together.
One of the scenes Thorne allegedly filmed is her pulling out her phone. She also talks to a male student. However, there were no other descriptions. What’s more, is that Wright is wearing a black robe which conceals her costume. From what the MCU Direct says, this only happens to avoid a potential costume leak.
Going back to Riri, she may become the tech guru for Wakanda temporarily. Shuri will likely be busy being Queen and the Black Panther. Essentially, this would put her work on hold and become somewhat of a hobby. Just don’t tell her that.