Riri Williams does not want to go to Wakanda in the first official clip for Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
In the clip for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel, Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) try and convince MIT student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) to accompany them back to Wakanda for reasons not yet known. Okoye tells Riri that the choice is up to her whether she goes to Wakanda consciously or unconsciously, leading Riri to snap back that Okoye needs "to be conscious of the way that you look," which garners a small laugh from Shuri.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will serve as Thorne's official MCU debut as Riri Williams/Ironheart. Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato, Eve Ewing, and Kevin Libranda, the character first appeared in Marvel Comics' Invincible Iron Man #7 in 2016 as a 15-year-old genius and MIT student who reverse-engineered Tony Stark's technology to create her own suit of armor. While Riri Williams will still attend MIT in the upcoming film, it is currently unknown if her first suit of armor will also be made by reverse engineering Stark technology or if she will use Wakanda's wealth of resources to create the Ironheart armor.
Wakanda Forever Ties Into Upcoming Ironheart Series
Following her debut in Wakanda Forever, Thorne will return as Riri Williams in the Disney+ series Ironheart, which is currently filming in Chicago. While plot details remain scarce, the series will feature Anthony Ramos as Parker Robbins/The Hood, a misfit and ally of Williams' who dons a hood that allows him to tap into dark arts and magic. The demon Mephisto will also reportedly appear in Ironheart, with Sacha Baron Cohen attached to the role. The first season will consist of six episodes and release in late 2023 as part of Phase 5 of the MCU.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever follows the leaders of Wakanda fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. "When Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, alerts them to a global threat and his disturbing plan to thwart it, the Wakandans band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda," reads the film's official synopsis.
In addition to Thorne, Wright, and Gurira, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Tenoch Huerta as Namor, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross and Angela Bassett as Ramonda.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on Nov. 11.
Source: Twitter