Chadwick Boseman’s final Black Panther performance will air on upcoming Marvel series
The late actor will reprise his role as King T’Challa in the Marvel anthology series “What If…?”
Black Panther fans who mourned the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman will get another opportunity to see him reprise the role of King T’Challa in an upcoming Disney Plus series. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege, the acclaimed actor’s final performance as Black Panther will air on the anthology series “What If…?”
The Marvel star was named one of the show’s cast members in the summer of 2019 and reportedly made it to set a few times before he died. “[Boseman] came in about four times and recorded numerous episodes,” Feige said during an interview with Emmy Magazine. “In hindsight, it’s very moving.”
Each episode of the forthcoming series will explore an alternate reality inspired by a hypothetical question centered around the different Marvel characters. SyFy Wire reports Boseman’s episode will answer the question, “What if T’Challa became Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill?”
Boseman’s death at the hands of colon cancer in late August had many questioning the future of Black Panther 2, but Fiege recently provided some answers. While at Disney Investor Day, he revealed that filming for the sequel will continue, noting the late actor’s role as King T’Challa will not be recasted.
“[Boseman’s] portrayal of T’Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends any iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past, and it’s for that reason that we will not recast the character,” he said. “However, to honor the legacy that Chad helped us build, we want to continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.”
Marvel Studios Executive Vice President of Production Victoria Alonso also confirmed Boseman’s character will not be replaced with a digital double.
“There’s only one Chadwick, and he’s not with us. Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction, and we are taking a little time to see how we return to the story, and what we do to honor this chapter of what has happened to us that was so unexpected, so painful, so terrible, really,” he said. “Because Chadwick was not only a marvelous human being every day that we spent together the five years we spent together, but it also seems to me that as a character what he did elevated us as a company, and has left his moment in history.”