Riri Williams made her grand entrance into the MCU when she debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Although not entirely unanimous, her tenacious attitude and ingenious talents had fans eager to at least learn more about her when the spin-off Disney Plus series Ironheart finally hits our home screens.
The main question on everyone’s minds going into this stand-alone show is just how connected it will be to both Riri’s comic book history and what we have seen so far of her in Wakanda Forever. Given Riri and fellow young genius Shuri’s instant rapport in the film, as the two became teammates and close friends, we’re all hoping Letitia Wright will show her face around Ironheart. But, what other Black Panther characters could be making the jump from big to the small screen in Marvel’s upcoming show?
Shuri
As we’ve mentioned, the newest Black Panther, Shuri, is maybe the character from the eponymous franchise who’s most likely to feature in Ironheart. We definitely want to see more of her and Riri’s friendship, and considering how similar in age the two are it would just make sense for Shuri to visit Riri back in the U.S., or for the latter to lean on the former when the going gets tough – which it most likely will, it’s Marvel!
Dominique Thorne, who plays Riri in the MCU, sounded elusive when talking about the topic with Comicbook.com, saying “I don’t know man, that’s just something that you’re going to have to tune in and find out about.”
Okoye
Thorne did say, however, that the most exciting thing about Ironheart is “the whole core ensemble.” This definitely makes it sound like Marvel has more than a few surprises up their sleeve, and it might just be safe to get our hopes up for some familiar faces this time around.
After Shuri, Okoye’s inclusion in the show would make the most sense. She shared the screen with Riri for quite a long time during Wakanda Forever, as the two took hilarious jabs at each other the whole way through. Marvel might also want to get fans hyped up for the rumored Okoye solo series, thus killing two birds with one stone.
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
We still don’t know how exactly the CIA got their hands on Riri’s Vibranium detector designs, and we definitely don’t think they’re done with her so easily. Back in the U.S., and without the protection of Wakanda’s kingdom, Riri is very much exposed to malignant minds who might want to use her genius for personal gain.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Val has been lurking in the shadows of a few MCU outings so far in the Multiverse Saga, and while we’re still not sure what exactly her end goal is, her appearance as the director of the CIA in Wakanda Forever can only spell trouble for Riri. Both John Walker and Yelena Belova have fallen for Val’s schemes, could Riri be next?
Namor
As much as him and Shuri reached a truce by the end of Wakanda Forever, we can’t ignore that the Talokan king spent the entire film obsessed with trying to kill Riri for creating the stolen Vibranium detector designs. While his intentions seemed misplaced (shouldn’t he be going against the CIA instead?), it seemed like Namor’s sights were set on the long-term goal of war against the surface world.
Namor is definitely sticking around the MCU as the second confirmed mutant in the franchise, after Kamala Khan, which is undoubtedly setting up the inclusion of the X-Men in the future. As Marvel builds up to his role in Black Panther 3, there’s a chance his and Riri’s paths could come to cross once more.