Editors Note: This article contains mild spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has just opened, and it's proving to be quite the hit with audiences, but one star in particular looks set to break from the pack. Following her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the movie as Riri Williams a.k.a. Ironheart, Dominique Thorne is now preparing for stardom on a new level when her Disney+ limited series, Ironheart, launches next year.

Williams plays a pivotal role in the plot of Wakanda Forever, with her character inventing a machine capable of detecting vibranium — the super-metal that was thought to only be found in Wakanda — but which accidentally ends up revealing the presence of Talokan, the underwater paradise ruled by the fearsome Feathered Serpent God, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía).

Riri is eventually taken to Wakanda for her own protection and, with the help of Shuri (Letitia Wright) is able to create her first proper Ironheart suit, having already demonstrated a prototype. The sight of a red suit of armor flying around a battle scene is a welcome one for all MCU fans and reminds us all of what we enjoyed about seeing Iron Man nearly fifteen years ago. While that second suit was partially CGI, Thorne has revealed that her Riri's initial prototype was almost entirely practical.

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Image via Marvel Studios

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Thorne recently spoke to Variety about her experiences filming, and what it was really like wearing the prototype suit, which weighed more than 50 pounds. Thorn explained:

"Ah, man, it was pretty cool, I’m not going to lie. It was pretty otherworldly to feel the weight of it. That was the quickest entry point into Riri Williams because, of course, I know that she’s an engineer, she’s a mechanic, I know she is a gearhead. She’s into building things with their hands — very much from scratch — to form what’s in her mind.Unlike some of the other suits that may be added in later with visual effects, the Mark I was all practical. To get to feel the weight of that on my body and just understand how it moves — you almost want to say it’s clunky, but when you have it on, you realize, 'Oh, this is actually such a smart build, like all my joints are free so I have so much movement. But also, this is heavy as hell. And it flies? Whoa!'"

Thorne then elaborated on how putting on the Mark I helped her connect with the character, saying: "The doors open wide into Riri’s mind and how she thinks, what she saw was possible and then actualized. After the first time that I went up in the air on wires — it couldn’t have been more than like two weeks [into filming] — walking around in it became a lot easier. They just told me the weight of it like a month ago. They waited until we were done."

Ironheart is due to stream on Disney+ next year. To see Thorne and her Ironheart suit in action now on the big screen, head to your local theater where Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing. You can see the trailer for it below: