What age is Riri Williams in Disney+’s Ironheart? Details revealed

Ironheart is the latest addition to Disney+’s long list of Marvel shows. The miniseries marks the 14th program in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and revolves around Riri Williams, a genius MIT student who built a superhero suit similar to that of Iron Man.

Riri, played by Dominique Thorne, was first introduced in the MCU in the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before getting her own series in 2025. Ever since her introduction, there has been much chatter about her age, with people wondering how old Riri Williams is in Ironheart.

Riri Williams is around 20 years old in the Disney+ series. This makes her one of the youngest superheroes in the MCU. This is in contrast to the comic books, where she has been described as a 15-year-old.

How old is Riri Williams in Ironheart?

As per the MCU lore, Riri Williams was born in 2005. Since the events of Ironheart take place in 2025, she is 20 years old at the beginning of the series. Riri made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which she was said to be 19. As per the timeline of the franchise, Wakanda Forever happens in mid-2025, and Ironheart is set six months after the film.

Hence, the television series’ premise is set at the end of 2025. By that time, Riri turns or is nearing turning 20, since her birth month has not been revealed by Marvel. Meanwhile, the actress who plays her is much older in real life.

Dominique Thorne was born on November 5, 1997. At the time of Wakanda Forever’s release, she had just turned 25. Now, at the time of Ironheart’s premiere, Dominique is 27 years old, which is seven years older than her on-screen age.

The MCU has also drastically changed Riri’s age from the comic books, which enables the creators to give more depth to the character and make her face more mature challenges. In the comics, Riri is a college student by age 11, and starts building her first armor when she is just 15 years old.

After flying in it for the first time and trying to stop a crime, she catches the attention of Tony Stark. He becomes a mentor to her and eventually offers her guidance through artificial intelligence based on his own personality.

This comic version of Riri takes on the name Ironheart during her adventures and continues to fight crime using upgraded armor and her intellect. In the show, having a 20-year-old instead of a 15-year-old in the middle of dangerous missions makes the character feel more grounded and relatable.

It has also been confirmed that Riri does not disappear during the blip that happens in Avengers: Infinity War. Contrary to some superheroes who vanish after Thanos’ snap, Riri makes it out alive. This allows her to continue working on her armor without pause and invent the supersuit at a young age.

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Ironheart premiered on Disney+ on June 24, 2025, and is set to feature six episodes. The show also stars Lyric Ross as Natalie Washington, Anji White as Ronnie Williams, Matthew Elam as Xavier Washington, Jim Rash as Professor Wilkes, Manny Montana as John, and Matthew Elam as Xavier Washington.

For more updates about MCU shows, stay tuned to Soap Central.

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