The death of Chadwick Boseman was a tragic event. Fans the world over mourned the loss of the actor. His death not only robbed us of all the great performances he could have produced in the decades to come, but it also required big changes to work that had already been planned... even more than we actually knew. That includes a Black Panther project that never came to be.
The most high-profile pivot required was in the production of the planned Black Panther sequel that had to go forward without Boseman, but it turns out we would have likely seen another Boseman/Marvel project had he lived. Bryan Andrews, the showrunner of the upcoming Marvel Zombies! animated series (which is spinning off from What If…?) confirmed we'll see the appearance of a voiceless T’Challa in the likeness of Boseman. He recently told ScreenRant that an entirely different spinoff from the series would have happened if the late actor were still with us. He explained…
Yeah, for all the reasons you laid out, that’s why we chose to have Peter [Parker] narrate that moment. We didn’t have Chadwick. If we had Chadwick, it would’ve been completely different choices. If we had Chadwick, he would’ve had his own Star-Lord T’Challa spinoff show long before we did the zombie thing.
What If…? saw different takes on the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe. One Season 1 episode saw the MCU invaded by a zombie virus, and that episode will lead into the upcoming Marvel Zombies! series, available with a Disney+ subscription. However, the second episode of the show was titled “What If…T’Challa became Star-Lord" and created a world in which the Wakandan was grabbed by the Ravagers instead of Peter Quill.
While not every MCU actor voiced their character in What If…?, Boseman did. His voice role as Black Panther on the series, in which he appeared in four episodes of the first season, is actually his final recorded performance. T’Chala appeared in the zombie episode as well, so including him in the spinoff made sense. Even if the character couldn’t be given a voice.
While recasting Chadwick Boseman has always been an option, Marvel has simply refused to do that. In live-action, the death of the actor meant the death of the character as well. It seems that even in animation, the decision was made that the MCU Black Panther is Chadwick Boseman, and that’s just the way it is. Even if he couldn’t be given a voice, that character will still be seen when possible. Andrews continued…
But being able to revisit his character in that way, the way it plays out, it was another way to be with him in some strange way, even though there were no words. You know what I mean? It’s still Chadwick’s Black Panther, and that’s rad.
This potential What If…? series wasn’t even the only thing potentially cancelled as a result of Boseman’s death. A new Avengers attraction currently under construction at Disneyland Resort was, based on concept art, going to have Black Panther and Wakanda as a big part of its story. The attraction, called Avengers Infinity Defense, is now a multiverse storyline. While it’s never been stated that Boseman’s death led to the change, it’s not difficult to see the connection.
Chadwick Boseman was truly unique. Recasting him, even as a voice actor, is clearly something that Marvel doesn’t feel can truly be done. At least in animation, we can still see him again, and we will when Marvel Zombies arrives this week.
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