Riri Williams, an African-American female teenager, is speculated to take over as Iron Man in Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4.
At the time being, only "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is confirmed for release. Fans speculate that the studios will move forward with a second "Spider-Man" film and a sequel to "Black Panther" and "Doctor Strange" but there are also speculations of "Iron Man 4," but this time the titular role could be passed down to a teenage girl.
According to a report from Time, Marvel Comics is officially passing the role of Iron Man to a 15-year-old African-American named Riri Williams. She was first introduced in "Invincible Iron Man" issue 9 and during the events of "Civil War II" Tony Stark names her as his successor.
Riri, as revealed in the comics, reverse-engineered her own Iron Man suit but was kicked out of school for doing so. Stark later discovered about this and named her as his true successor and she is now joining the list of Marvel superheroes that have been changed throughout the years. Some of the others include Jane Foster taking over as Thor and Miles Morales as Spider-Man.
However, as pointed out in a report from Ecumenical News, this could indicate that if "Iron Man 4" is included in the list for the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 then actor Robert Downey Jr. might be donning the suit at all, instead serving as an advisor to a younger actress who would then portray Riri Williams.
Downey Jr. is reportedly getting a little too old to keep filming high-paced action scenes and might not be able to keep coming back for future "Iron Man" films but by passing the torch to Riri Williams the films will still have a strong sense of continuity while giving the spotlight to a young female from a minority, further emphasizing diversity in Hollywood.
Marvel Studios and Disney have yet to announce if Phase 4 will indeed include "Iron Man 4" and if Riri Williams will even make an appearance.
