Merchandise for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever offers a first look at the final version of Ironheart's armor.
Photos shared by @namecomputron on Twitter reveal a set of figures for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever currently sold at Target, which provide a first look at what will likely be the final version of Riri Williams/Ironheart's armor for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. Also included in the set are figures for Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Namor the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta).
This is not the first time images of Ironheart's armor have appeared online, though previous images have shown what appears to be "Mark 1" of the hero's suit. This is presumably the version of the suit that the character, portrayed by Dominique Thorne, is seen building in the official teaser trailer for Wakanda Forever. While one previous image was an illustration, a more recent set photo showed Thorne in costume as Ironheart.
Thorne will make her MCU debut as Riri Williams/Ironheart in the upcoming sequel, ahead of her own solo Disney+ series, Ironheart. The actor announced that she had officially wrapped filming on Wakanda Forever in March. "And that is a picture wrap on Riri Williams," Thorne wrote on her Instagram story. "God is so good. See y'all in November."
Ironheart Makes Her MCU Debut
Wakanda Forever began filming in Atlanta, GA on June 29, 2021, but production has paused several times since then due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The film serves as a sequel to 2018's Black Panther, which starred the late Chadwick Boseman as King T'Challa/Black Panther. Wakanda Forever's plot was restructured following Boseman's death in 2020. It was later confirmed in August that Thorne would make her MCU debut as Riri Williams in the sequel before starring in her own Disney+ series, Ironheart, for which Chinaka Hodge will serve as head writer.
"We're shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first," Marvel Studios President/Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige confirmed in August 2021. "She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series." Before her role was confirmed, fans theorized that Wakanda Forever would introduce the hero to the MCU when it was revealed the sequel would film at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Riri is a student in the comics.
Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato, Eve Ewing, and Kevin Libranda, Riri Williams made her Marvel Comics debut in 2016's Invincible Iron Man #7. A 15-year-old genius and MIT student, Riri is able to reverse engineer Tony Stark's technology to create her own suit of armor and become Ironheart. Ironheart was officially confirmed by Marvel Studios in December 2021 and, while it does not yet have a release date, the six-episode first season will premiere on Disney+.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
Source: Twitter