‘An actor’s dream’: Dominique Thorne plays character from South Side in ‘Black Panther’ sequel

CHICAGO (WLS) — “Wakanda Forever” was a mega Marvel hit at the weekend box office, taking in $181 million in North America alone.

One of the stars in the sequel is Ironheart, or “Riri,” a character who is from the South Side of Chicago.

Riri is a brilliant college student at MIT and an engineering genius. She even creates the armor that lets her fly as Ironheart. She’s key to a power struggle among empires.

ABC7 spoke with Dominique Thorne about playing the role.

The actress has already shot at Stan’s Donuts and the Adler Planetarium for her “Ironheart” series.

“Very proud, and we’re about to introduce the world of Chicago as well,” Thorne said. “Riri Williams, being a young Black girl, is really a focal point of her existence in the MCU. And then add on top of that, that she is a genius. Add on top of that, that she is from the South Side.”

She also spoke about what it has been like to work with the cast of superstars on set.

“I think you cannot step into a room, onto a room, onto a set with Angela Bassett to not feel the need to make sure that you’re present, awake, alert in doing your job,” Thorne said. “It’s a gift, and a beautiful challenge and a great time to play. It’s like an actor’s dream.”

Ironheart is getting her own series on Disney+, and it is airing next year.

“I hope that when Black girls see Riri Williams, they see someone who is reaching for their dreams, which means that they can reach for their dreams, who’s doing so fully in herself, fully in her truth, unapologetically and that means they can as well,” Thorne said. “I hope they feel encouraged and inspired to reach for whatever they want to reach to, how they want to reach for it.”

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