Robert Downey Jr. encouraged Dominique Thorne ahead of the MCU series

Dominique Thorne made her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverand while the character of Riri Williams may never play alongside Iron Man in MCU, thanks to star Alden Ehrenreich, Thorne got a chance to finally speak to Robert Downey Jr. in real life.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ehrenreich – who will be starring heart of steel alongside Thorne – was asked for advice, the Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. (who will star in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Oppenheimer alongside Ehrenreich) may have informed him about joining the MCU.

“Well, it wasn’t that much advice,” Ehrenreich said. “He talked about commercial microdosing projects in addition to artistic ones, and just before I said yes to that, I just FaceTimed him and asked, ‘Is there anything I need to know before I sign up?’ I thought, ‘He’ll say : ‘Don’t do it’?” I think you’ve asked Harrison Ford before [Solo] what he was going to say to the next Han Solo, and he said, “Don’t do it.” But Downey didn’t say that.

Ehrenreich then revealed that he had put Downey Jr. in touch with Thorne since the two had not yet met.

“I kind of had the honor of introducing her. They didn’t know each other and hadn’t spoken before, so I put them in touch. He is so incredibly generous and sweet and gives himself a lot of his time and he was so happy to talk to her and encourage her. That was really nice.”

Riri Williams and Tony Stark are constantly linked in the world of Marvel Comics, with Williams serving as the new Iron Man after Marvel’s 2016 Civil War II Case. However, the two have also met in the comics from time to time, although it is currently unclear if, or even how, Thorne and Downey Jr. would appear together in a film where Downey Jr.’s Iron Man died Avengers: Endgame.