Chadwick Boseman is still very much in the heart of Marvel as the Black Panther star will reportedly be in multiple episodes of What If…?
Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that Chadwick Boseman was able to record “numerous episodes” for the animated series.
Speaking with Emmy, Feige said that Boseman came in four times to do his recording in 2019. Not only will this retain Boseman in the franchise, but his voice will also provide “all sorts of stories [Marvel] couldn’t explore through live-action.”
First Marvel animated show
What If…? is Marvel’s very first animated series. Created by A.C. Bradley, this show will be an anthology depicting major events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with different outcomes and endings.
Actor Jeffrey Wright lent his voice to this series as the narrator, the Watcher. Aside from Boseman, confirmed to have also done their recordings are other MCU stars like Hayley Atwell (Capt. Peggy Carter), Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier) and Taika Waititi (Korg).
Rumors surfaced that Robert Downey Jr. is also in the voice cast, reprising his role as Tony Stark. The character died at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but Goldblum said he has an episode with Downey.
“It’s an animated version of all the characters we know and love from Marvel and this episode included the Grandmaster and Iron Man, so Robert Downey will do a voice for that, and Korg,” Goldblum said.
Downey, however, has been mum about his participation in the animated series.
Release date, teaser, and other details
Based on the 1977 comic book with the same name, What If…? will be a 10-part animation exploring alternative scenarios. Feige confirmed that production for the second season has begun in late 2020, ahead of the show’s actual debut.
Disney+ plans to release the show in the middle of 2021. Speculations are that the series could start streaming on the platform next summer or right before fall season.
According to The Direct, Chadwick Boseman’s particular episode in What If…? imagines him as the Star Lord. He will take over for Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) as the leader in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Fans said he could likely re-appear as the Black Panther in the second season of the animated series.
Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons