According to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman recorded “numerous episodes” of Marvel Studio’s first animated feature Marvel’s What If…?. The series is inspired by the Marvel comic book of the same name.
In the Disney+ series, multiple Marvel actors return to voice their characters, but are re-imagined (just like in the comic book) in the most unexpected ways. Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright will voice The Watcher, the observer of the universe.
During San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Marvel announced Chadwick Boseman would come back along with many of his MCU co-stars like Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger) and Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier). Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), voiced by her live-action counter-part, will have her own re-imagination as a Captain America-like, shield throwing British super soldier. Bucky Barners/Winter Soldier will confront Captain America who has become a zombie. Perhaps a nod to Marvel Zombies comics from years back.
“These are all sorts of stories we couldn’t explore through live-action,” Feige told Emmy Magazine about the series, which imagines what happens if it’s T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) of Wakanda who becomes the legendary outlaw Star-Lord.
Boseman “came in about four times and recorded numerous episodes,” Feige said, adding that “in hindsight, it’s very moving.”
Feige also confirmed during Disney Investor Day earlier this month that Marvel Studios will not be recasting Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa for Black Panther 2. Instead, the sequel will explore the world of Wakanda. It will debut July 2022.
Boseman passed away after battling colon cancer. He was very private about his four-year fight with cancer, but he continued to work during those years. His latest role is trumpeter Levee Green in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
“On the reel, there is this image of a Star-Lord T’Challa because we wanted to see what if the worlds of Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy collided,” What If…? head writer Ashley Bradley told Discussing Film in 2019. “That was taking two universes, two to three movies, kind of twisting them in new ways.”
“With Star-Lord T’Challa obviously, we want to know how T’Challa ended up in other planets? What’s the story there? It’s super exciting to work on because again, it’s seeing these characters and seeing the combination of character interactions,” Bradley said. “Seeing the Avengers hang out together and more recently Endgame gave us the fun of seeing something like Ant-Man hanging out with the Hulk. What If…? is taking it a step further.”
Other MCU stars to voice characters in What If…? include Josh Brolin (Thanos), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Star-Lord T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) will encounter cosmic characters like Howard the Duck when Marvel’s What If…? premieres summer 2021 on Disney+. In case you missed it, check out the trailer below.
