For many, the death of iconic actor Chadwick Boseman made the phrase “Wakanda Forever,” words he popularized in the 2018 smash hit Black Panther, seem somewhat hollow. The beloved actor died in August 2020 after a private four-year battle with colon cancer. However, Boseman will not only live on in the many movies in which he starred, but via Marvel Studios’ latest trailer, fans now know that the Black Panther lives, at least in animated form.
Boseman, in his final performance, will star in the upcoming Disney+ series What If…?, based on the popular comics, revising his role as T’Challa, but in a radically different way.
The nearly two-minute trailer of What If…? reveals that the series will explore many hypothetical scenarios of major events in the Marvel universe, such as, per THR, “what if T’Challa was not the Black Panther but rather Star-Lord for the Guardians of the Galaxy?”
Several MCU stars are reportedly back to voice their characters including Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Marc Rufflo (Hulk), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson, (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Neal McDonough (Dum Dum Duggan), Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Stanley Tucci (Dr. Abraham Erskine), Taika Waititi (Korg), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola), Djimon Hounsou (Korath), Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster), Michael Rooker (Yondu), and Chris Sullivan (Taserface).
Jeffrey Wright will narrate each episode as the Watcher.
What If…? hails from writer A.C. Bradley with Bryan Andrews directing. Producers include Marvel head Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Brad Winderbaum. This project serves as Marvel Studios’ first animated series since becoming its own production company.
Fans of the MCU and Boseman will be able to catch the action in a few weeks, as the first episode will hit the Disney+ streaming platform on Aug.11, with subsequent episodes debuting every Wednesday.
-theGrio