Black Panther 2 Star Dominique Thorne Prioritizes Her Career Over Dating

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is riveting viewers and making them cry at the same time — and new addition Dominque Thorne is just one reason why. The 25-year-old actor made her breakout turn in the Oscar-nominated 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk and worked with director Ryan Coogler on Judas and the Black Messiah before getting cast in his Marvel film. Thorne plays genius Riri Williams in the Black Panther sequel, and will reprise the character in her own Disney+ spinoff series Ironheart, premiering in fall 2023. Now that she has ascended into a new level of stardom, fans are now wondering everything about Thorne, including her dating life.

As far as fans know, Thorne is single and not dating anyone — at least publicly. She hasn’t given any indication that she’s dating on social media. Instead, her Instagram page commemorates milestones like her Wakanda Forever role and her Cornell University graduation, as it should.

The star also frequently shares pictures with her family and close friends, like reporter Jasawn Pryce, who posted photos with Thorne congratulating her on the movie. While the nature of these relationships are unknown, they seem more like a close friend than a boyfriend.

Thorne also hasn’t revealed anything about her dating life in interviews, choosing to focus on her work and acting journey. Speaking to Complex, she discussed how much she’s “fallen in love” with Riri and what the character means to her. “I think it’s really great to know that the MCU now has someone who is just opening the door to another world of representation,” she says. “And is really allowing, yet again, more people and more communities of folks who come from places similar to where Riri does as the south side of Chicago ... who found themselves in a similar situation going to university or trying their hand at making it through school.”

Thorne originally auditioned for the first Black Panther film for Shuri, which went to Letitia Wright. But Marvel kept her in mind when it was time to cast the role of Riri, especially after Coogler worked with her as a producer on Black Messiah. “I had no words; I was quite literally speechless,” she told Variety about her offer to play the role. “I was waiting for him to tell me how the process would go, that he’s gonna send me the audition sides, or I can record my tape, or this is when they’d like to get my audition in by. I’m waiting for him to give me the rest of the information, and it never came. It was simply, ‘So do you want to do it?’ which was incredible.”