Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler has teased a connection between the new Marvel recruit Riri Williams aka Ironheart, due to be played in the sequel by Dominique Thorne, and Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic Avenger Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Speaking with DesiNerd, the filmmaker was careful to drop any spoilers but did reveal that, yes, Ironheart and Iron Man will have a “complicated connection.”
"I don't want to put any spoilers out there… I know you all haven't seen the film yet. I know the same for your audience. But yeah, there is a connection there between her and Tony. It's a complicated connection. And Riri is a supporting character in this film, so she's there kind of in concert with a lot of other characters. But she does play a major role and we will get to know a little bit about how she became who she is when we meet her in this in this film."
In the pages of Marvel Comics, Riri Williams is inspired to craft a suit of armor to take to the skies by Tony Stark, even meeting with the man himself. Of course, the live-action depiction and her origin will be different, following Stark making the ultimate sacrifice at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Despite him being dead, or perhaps even because of it, Coogler will continue the connection between Ironheart and Iron Man in some way.
Ryan Coogler Expects Audiences to Connect Quickly with Ironheart
While we wait and see how this connection between the characters will manifest, Coogler believes that audiences will feel a quick simpatico with Riri.
"In many ways, I expect audiences to connect with her, because she is a bit of an audience surrogate in this film. She's one of the few main characters in the film who doesn't really have any direct experience with Wakanda or with Talokan. So she's kind of the every person. She's kind of reacting to things and seeing them for the first time, whereas the other characters are stoked in in the cultures of Wakanda or Talokan, if that makes sense."
Following her introduction in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart will lead her own series on Disney+. While details are largely being kept under wraps at present, the series is set to be directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, with the first series consisting of six episodes. Starring Anthony Ramos as the Marvel villain Parker Robbins aka The Hood alongside Dominique Thorne, Ironheart is expected to be released in the latter part of 2023, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, meanwhile, is scheduled to land in theaters on Friday, and will follow Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) as they fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.