Dominique Thorne, the star who brought Riri Williams to life in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, revealed a Young Avengers crossover she’d love to see happen on the big screen.
These last two years of the MCU have been focused on expanding the franchise in a major way. Most of this came in the form of introducing new heroes to the world—and many were on the younger side.
Hawkeye had Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel gifted the world Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania brought Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang to the table.
But which of these new superheroes does Thorne want to see her Ironheart crossover with the most?
Dominique Thorne's Desired Crossover
While speaking exclusively to The Direct’s Russ Milheim as part of Puff’s Power Pals campaign at Children’s Healthcare Atlanta, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ironheart actress Dominique Thorne revealed which new young MCU hero she’d love to see her character, Riri Williams crossover with the most.
When asked which prospective Young Avengers she’d put side-by-side with Ironheart first, Thorne was quick to say “Cassie Lang,” pointing out how their shared experience of loss would be an interesting dynamic to explore:
“Ooh, this is a good one. Let’s see. I would say maybe Cassie Lang, I’d say. I think the two of them, they’re definitely similar age group, all of that. But Cassie also experienced… We all, obviously, know the loss that Riri has experienced. Or if we don’t, we’ll come to know… It’s how she came to be. And so, Cassie though, in a way that I’m not sure we really have seen yet. But she also experienced loss in a different form with the Blip and all that that meant.”
The actress noted that the characters' “very different backgrounds” and “lifestyles” would add to their interactions:
“And to see the glimpses of her sort of taking up her own mantle and going on her own journey, as alluded to from all the [Quantumania] trailers, I think it would be pretty interesting to see how these two young girls from very different backgrounds, very different lifestyles, but of a similar age, and maybe a shared human emotion of loss, to see how they interact and what they do if they were to get together in this very super world of ours.”
An Ironheart and Cassie Lang Team-Up
While Riri William and Cassie Lang haven’t met on screen yet, the two actresses behind them were photographed together at the red carpet premiere for Quantumania. But, obviously, that’s not the same as seeing their MCU personas play off each other.
Cassie and Riri would no doubt get along well, and their technical prowess could be a powerful combo—not to mention seeing both in action would invoke original Avengers vibes.
As exciting as the prospect of a Young Avengers team-up is, Marvel Studios producer Stephen Broussard recently went on record to say that, currently, there is no such project in the works. Though, leading by Andrew Garfield's example, this could easily be a white lie from the producer in an effort to keep those secrets close to his chest.
It seems inevitable that these young characters will all team up at some point. However, by the time they do, they’ll likely be far too old to live up to the Young Avengers name. Perhaps the MCU will adopt a different label for the group, such as The Champions.
Despite Broussard claiming that nothing is in development, reliable rumors do point to Young Avengers being set up in Paul Bettany’s upcoming Disney+ series, Vision Quest. However, it’ll be quite a while before fans see that—think 2025 or later.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently streaming on Disney+, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters worldwide.
