During Disney’s Investor Day presentation in December, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced Dominque Thorne would play Riri Williams in an upcoming Disney+ Ironheart series. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, Ironheart is a successor to Iron Man, filling the void left by Tony Stark’s death in the comics and, apparently, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thorne is a Marvel fan who was well aware of Riri’s history and role in the Marvel Universe before getting a call about the role. She describes learning she’d landed the part as an “awe-inspiring” experience in a new interview with BlackFimandTV.com.
“I think my mother might disown me if I didn’t,” Throne said in regards to knowing who Ironheart was ahead of the casting call. “It’s very much a Marvel household. I did know about Ironheart before I was approached with the role. So it was it was an awe-inspiring moment to think that I would be chosen to portray this woman and to bring her to the screen in this way.”
Thorne says that she’s looking forward to digging into Riri’s comic book history as research for the role. She also discussed what she hopes to get out of the series.
“For me, at this point, it’s really about the story,” she says. “That’s what many of us who enter into this profession think. What draws you in is the ability to tell stories that mean something to people. In high school, the motto was to empathize, to empower, or to educate and so that is what I still abide by today. So hopefully, I’m involved in a story that is doing that. There are real people with real stories and real emotions at the center of it. Even if it’s not my experience or your experience, it allows somebody the opportunity to be changed; the opportunity to have their mind expanded or get educated in a new way. I think that’s one of the most beautiful and powerful things that this form is capable of.”
In the comics, Williams is a teenaged engineering genius who lives with her mother and aunt in Chicago after her father’s death. At 15 and attending MIT, she puts together a version of the Iron Man armor. Using the armor to catch some escaped prisoners attracts Tony Stark’s attention, and he gives her his blessing in support. She then becomes the hero Ironheart.
Ironheart is one of many new Marvel projects in the works for Disney+. The first, WandaVision, debuts new episodes on Fridays on the streaming service.