A deleted scene in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever strongly paralleled a pivotal moment in the first Iron Man film, where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) builds a suit to free himself from captivity. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered on November 11, 2022, and saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) official debut of Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams (a.k.a. Ironheart). In the comics, Riri becomes something akin to Iron Man’s protégé, so it isn’t surprising that there are parallels between the characters. As seen in the film, Riri is a young super-genius who creates an iron suit to rival that of Iron Man. However, the film originally almost made their similarities even more noticeable.
In an interview with The Direct, Letitia Wright and Thorne opened up about some of the deleted scenes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The actresses revealed that in the initial cuts of the film, scenes where the pair are being held captive in the Talokan cave were expanded to include more relationship-building between Shuri (Wright) and Riri. The characters end up using their brilliance to invent some kind of device to free themselves, under the guise of helping the Talokan. This strongly parallels Iron Man when Stark, under the guise of building a missile for a terrorist group, instead builds his Iron Man suit and uses it to escape captivity. Check out Thorne’s statement below:
A lot of those moments in the cave were definitely strong, relationship-building moments for Shuri and I. That was definitely the first time that… We obviously know and associate both these characters with an incredible amount of brilliance, but this was, in that cave, sort of the first time that they’re both realizing, ‘Oh, you speak my language. Okay, I don’t have to alter myself. I don’t have to tone it down. We can just get straight to the meat of the problem.’
In this case, it’s the fact that they’ve been kidnapped and that Shuri has gained the favor of Namor at the time. So, there were moments where, actually, how Shuri goes out into Talokan, and she’s getting to see the city where Riri joins them as well, and they discover as they’re taking this view, Riri notices the thing that’s powering them, the Sastun that they mentioned, could be used to help them escape…
And so from that point, it’s really them using that shared brilliance and what Riri’s now seeing as an opportunity to build and strategize their way out of there under the guise of helping them find a more efficient way to distribute their power.
From there, the two of them are work-shopping there, working on this thing for them that they say they’ll give them in exchange for their life, but all the while, sort of siphoning off materials and supplies to rig their own distraction and get out of there. And while they’re doing that, just sort of talking about life experiences.
How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Set Up Riri As Iron Man’s Successor
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s final cut managed to set up Riri as Stark’s successor without having to exactly parallel Iron Man. She is first introduced as a 19-year-old genius M.I.T. student who built vibranium-detecting technology. However, this puts her on the radar of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Wakanda. While trying to escape the Talokan, Riri reveals that she is already working on building an Iron Man-like suit out of scraps. The technology is functional but not perfect. However, she soon gets access to Wakandan resources and her suit gets a serious upgrade to put it on par with Iron Man’s suit. Of course, it’s so powerful that Shuri keeps it in Wakanda when Riri returns home. Still, the film explains how Riri builds her suit, which is the first step towards her becoming Stark’s successor, Ironheart.
What’s Next For Riri Williams In The MCU
Riri might actually be retrieving her suit from Wakanda quite hastily. She is next set to appear in the MCU in her own Disney+ original series, Ironheart. While Ironheart does not yet have an official release date, it will debut sometime this year. Details about the plot have been kept tightly under wraps, but Thorne is confirmed to be returning as the titular character. Additionally, Anthony Ramos will star as Parker Robbins (a.k.a. The Hood) in the villain’s live-action debut. The series is expected to pick up where Black Panther: Wakanda Forever left off and explore how Riri officially becomes Ironheart after her first taste of heroism.
After Ironheart, Thorne is believed to be starring in Armor Wars alongside Don Cheadle’s War Machine. The project was initially conceived as a TV series, but will now be a feature-length film. If the film follows the comic book storyline, it will explore Stark technology falling into the wrong hands and War Machine’s efforts to rectify the situation. Aside from Ironheart and Armor Wars, it is unclear where else Riri may appear in the MCU. However, there have been rumors of a potential Young Avengers project that she would fit in perfectly. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever laid a strong foundation for Riri to become Stark’s successor and play a vital role in the future of the MCU.
Source: The Direct