'What If...?' Paid an Emotional Tribute to Chadwick Boseman in His Last Turn as Black Panther

Sure, Marvel's What If...? is an animated series. But in Episode Two, when we first heard the voice of T'Challa—spoken by Chadwick Boseman in his final turn as Black Panther before his death last year—it felt like one of the MCU's most emotional moments.

The new episode, which debuted this Wednesday on Disney+, imagined a corner of the multiverse where T'Challa becomes Star-Lord, not Black Panther. The story is a blast, following T'Challa through a galactic romp that even sees Thanos pop up as a good guy (!) on his team. But really, it's Boseman who steals the show. Of course, we're awaiting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is rumored to give a grand memorial to both the character and the late actor, but What If...? ends the episode with a message to Boseman. You can view it below.

It's a beautiful note from Marvel to the actor that led Black Panther, a film that was far more important to our culture than just its superheroes and action setpieces. Even in the What If...? episode itself, though it was written before Boseman's death, the story even seems to pay tribute to Black Panther. In the end of the episode, T'Challa returns home to Wakanda for an emotional reunion, surrounded by all of his family and friends. If anything, it makes us that much more ready to return to Wakanda when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in 2022. In the meantime, read what What If...?'s head writer, A.C. Bradley, told The Hollywood Reporter about recording with Boseman.

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