Chadwick Boseman's Final Performance in Marvel's 'What If...?' Has Social Media Emotional
07/09/2021 04:22 pm EDT
Boseman died on Aug. 28, 2020, at age 43, following a private battle with colon cancer. His last film, Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, earned him a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He also earned a posthumous SAG nomination for his supporting role in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. He was best known for starring as T'Challa/Black Panther in the MCU movies. He played the role in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
After Boseman's death, Marvel continued work on a Black Panther sequel. Now titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it will be directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige. T'Challa will not be recast, but the film will instead focus on other Wakanda characters played by Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett. Production started in Atlanta late last month. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.
"I wanted to acknowledge the devastating loss of a dear family and a member of the Marvel Studios family," Feige said during the Disney Investor Day event in December 2020. "Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual, who affected all of our lives professionally and personally."
"His 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," Feige continued. "However, to honor the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the King of Wakanda, we want to continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film."
While Boseman recorded lines for What If...?, many other actors didn't come back. Iron Man, Captain America, and Captain Marvel - who were played by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Brie Larson, respectively - will be voiced by new actors.
The first episode of Marvel's What If...? will debut on Disney+ on Wednesday, Aug. 11. Like Loki, new episodes will be released on Wednesdays.
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