Warning: Spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to follow.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally upon us, with audiences packing themselves into theaters around North America to say goodbye to the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Phase Four and look ahead to the future.
Part of that future includes the return of Dominique Thorne‘s Riri Williams, who made a delightfully entertaining first appearance during the events of Wakanda Forever, despite the less-delightful circumstance of Namor and the Talokan gunning for her after she built a device that was used to inadvertently discover the underwater kingdom’s vibranium supply.
After being put in Wakanda’s equivalent of witness protection, she aids the film’s titular nation in the final battle against Namor and the Talokan, playing an important role in dealing with the airborne Namor by way of her newly-built, Stark-esque armor.
We knew from the outset that Wakanda Forever would be setting up Riri Williams’ solo outing in the upcoming Disney Plus series Ironheart, but with executive producer Nate Moore no longer being sworn to as much plot secrecy, he was happy to delve into the intricacies of what might be next for Riri in an interview with Screen Rant.
You think about this woman who was plucked from a relatively normal life as an MIT student, who all of a sudden has encountered an underwater civilization, gone to Wakanda, flown a mech suit, and then is plopped back into a world at MIT? I certainly think it colors how she thinks about what we would call the real world. And I think it might set her on a different course in her show because, boy, it’s going to be hard to go back to doing homework after what she just experienced.
Indeed, even the lofty future of life after MIT graduation probably pales in comparison to becoming best friends with the new Black Panther. Given that her armor has remained in Wakanda to avoid increased political tensions (which one Valentina Allegra de Fontaine needs no help in escalating), we’ll likely be seeing an entirely new suit from Riri very soon
Ironheart will release to Disney Plus in late 2023 and will consist of six episodes.