Rumored last year, Ironheart was later confirmed to become a Disney+ series at Disney's Investor Day presentation, even going so far as to announced Dominique Thorne as the titular character. This both excited and surprised many fans, especially due to the young actress being a newcomer with only two credits to her name.
In February, Dominique Thorne had spoken about how Marvel Studios approached her to portray Riri Willaims in Ironheart. In a new interview, Thorne further clarifies that she didn't even need to audition for the leading role when she was offered it.
UNPRECEDENTED CASTING FOR MARVEL STUDIOS
Speaking with Empire, Dominique Thorne discussed the casting process for Riri Williams in Ironheart, which wasn't what she expected.
“I was at home in Delaware and I got a call asking if I would like to play this role...It was the best phone call I could have ever received.”
Dominique Thorne, an American actress, with Trini roots, is set to star as Riri Williams, a teenage genius who becomes a superhero in the upcoming Disney Plus/Marvel’s series Ironheart. Thorne chats with writer Narissa Fraser with her in this week's Sunday Newsday. pic.twitter.com/GJKI7BbWNR
— T&T Newsday (@Newsday_TT) December 26, 2020
Thorne superficially points out that there was “no audition at all” for the role and that Marvel Studios had approached her with the offer.
“I was so shocked, in fact, that there was a considerable lag in the conversation! I was waiting for them to say, like, ‘Oh, we’ll send you the sides’, or, ‘Get your tape over to us.’ But there was none of that. It was just like, ‘Would you like to do this?’ It was probably the most unique experience I’ve ever had because there was no audition at all.”
NO AUDITION NEEDED FOR IRONHEART
From the sound of it, it seems like no one else was even approached for the role before it was offered to Dominique Thorne. And even stranger, Marvel Studios didn't even need to have her audition for the role. While this isn't too unusual for Hollywood on its own, Thorne only has two credited roles in her young acting career, those being Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk and Shaka King’s Judas And The Black Messiah.
However, there shouldn't be any doubt in Marvel Studios, who haven't failed yet when casting its leads. It seems like either Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, casting director Sarah Finn, or someone else at the studio really loved the way Thorne performed in both of her films.
Although, it's still another mystery why Thorne was cast in the role of Williams so early, despite her series not having a release date and likely not coming out on Disney+ until 2023. It's also curious that this specific interview was released in the same issue focused on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Anthony Mackie did tease “many surprises” would be in store for fans when his streaming series hits Disney+ on March 19 — perhaps Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams will be one of them?
