The MCU began with a suit of armour. 17 years ago, Robert Downey Jr suited up for the first time as Iron Man, cladding himself in a hotrod rocket suit and kicking off five phases of interconnected storytelling. Now, we’re about to see another character literally build themselves into a hero before our eyes: Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, the prodigious teen genius first introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, who puts her technological expertise into making her own Iron Man-inspired suit.
The resulting Ironheart series is set to evolve Dominique Thorne’s Williams from the excitable upstart we met in Wakanda Forever – and comes with the seal of approval from Tony Stark himself. “Robert Downey Jr and I spoke just after we wrapped, and he shared some very lovely words about my journey,” Thorne tells Empire. “He told me how excited he was and that he’s rooting for it, too. I literally got two thumbs up. It’s really reassuring to know you’re not embarrassing Iron Man.” Cue up the AC/DC.
Still, Williams comes at her suit-building journey from a very different vantage point to mega-CEO Stark. “She’s dumpster-diving, whereas Tony Stark [was] this bajillionaire,” Thorne explains. Not to say that Riri’s project in Ironheart won’t be impressive – she has, after all, spent time with the Wakandans. “What she’s able to accomplish is remarkable,” teases Thorne. Time to suit up.
Read Empire’s full Ironheart story in the Jurassic World Rebirth issue – on sale Thursday 8 May. Pre-order a copy online here. Ironheart comes to Disney+ from 25 June.