Dominique Thorne auditioned for the role of Shuri in the original Black Panther. Check out her screen test with the late Chadwick Boseman.
Dominique Thorne entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Riri Williams with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but the actress had actually auditioned for the role of Shuri in the original movie. She obviously didn’t win the role, but she impressed Marvel Studios enough that they knew they wanted to work with her in future. In Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is now streaming on Disney+, a short clip of Thorne’s original audition is played, with the actress appearing alongside the late Chadwick Boseman.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly last year, Dominique Thorne referred to her original Black Panther audition. “They said, ‘We’d love to work with you in the future, but you just don’t have enough experience right now,’” Thorne recalled. “At the time, I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, sure, okay. That’s what you tell everybody, isn’t it?’ But I guess they meant what they said.” Black Panther producer Nate Moore contacted Thorne several years later and offered her the role of Riri Williams right then and there.
Following her appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Dominique Thorne will reprise her role of Riri Williams for Ironheart, an upcoming Marvel series for Disney+. The series also stars Anthony Ramos at Parker Robbins/The Hood, a young man who taps into dark arts and magic. The six-episode series is expected to launch on Disney+ by late 2023.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finds Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. When Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, alerts them to a global threat and his disturbing plan to thwart it, the Wakandans band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Evertt Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Tenoch Huerta as Namor, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, Mabel Adena as Namora, Alex Livinalli as Attuma, and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now streaming on Disney+ and is also available on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray.