Before his tragic passing, Chadwick Boseman was due to lead a What If...? spinoff series centered on the Star-Lord variant of T'Challa, it has been revealed. Marvel's animated anthology series,
What If...?, is a peculiar addition to the MCU, with many wondering how much the Disney+ series will affect the franchise as a whole, or whether it will branch off to create almost a sub-franchise of its own. Well, according to director Bryan Andrews, the latter was very much the plan where Boseman's Star-Lord is concerned, with his role in the main What If...? Series meant to set the stage for a spinoff.
"I don't know if he knew this, but there was planning to have Star-Lord T'Challa spin off into his own show with that universe and crew. We were all very excited. We know he would have loved it, too. And then, you know, he passed, and so all that's in limbo. So, who knows? Maybe one day."
Chadwick Boseman's vocal performance, as well as the "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" episode itself, was easily one of the show's highlights, and no doubt Marvel fans would have loved to explore the cosmos with T'Challa and his variant crew. Andrews continued, revealing that Boseman passed away not long after his final recording for the Disney+ series.
"Chadwick had recorded his Star Lord T'Challa stuff early. But we had those later episodes that he appeared in sporadically, and it was a long stretch before we got him [again]. And it was not long after the final recording that he passed. I think it was maybe just a few months, or a month. None of us knew, obviously. But we got him in time to have everything [for Season 1]. I think he was also trying to make an effort because T'Challa was so important to him - and also this new version of Star Lord T'Challa was so important to him. He dug it."
Knowing what we now know about Boseman's health, and the fact that the actor continued to work and wanted so much to put his stamp on the character of T'Challa, imbues his role in What If...? with a poignancy that would not have been expected during recording. The courage of Boseman to continue amid his struggles is a real testament to his passion for T'Challa, and no doubt fans will forever wonder about the Star-Lord spinoff that never was.
Boseman of course featured in the main MCU timeline as Black Panther, making his debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War before leading 2018's Black Panther. Having cemented himself as a fan-favorite part of the Marvel universe, battling alongside the Avengers in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Chadwick Boseman sadly passed away in August 2020 due to complications from colon cancer, something which he had kept secret.
What If...? explores the various alternate timelines of the multiverse in which major moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe occur differently. The recently released season finale of What If...? features Boseman's final performance, and is available now, along with the rest of season 1, courtesy of Disney+. Meanwhile, Black Panther 2 will pay tribute to the late actor. This comes to us from https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/marvel-what-if-season-1-finale-tchalla-spin-off-chadwick-boseman-1235082366|Variety.