Chadwick Boseman's posthumous 'What If...?' appearance brings 'solemnity' to Marvel series
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Watching this weekâs episode of Marvelâs âWhat IfâŠ?â was bittersweet for Chris Sullivan.
The âThis Is Usâ actor was able to voice his beloved âGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2â character Taserface in the Disney+ animated series, and the newest chapter also features the late Chadwick Boseman reprising his fan-favorite role as TâChalla. Instead of protecting Wakanda as Black Panther in this version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, heâs helping a bunch of space outlaws become better men.
âFirst of all, the ability to be in any way related to TâChalla and Chadwick Boseman is an incredible honor,â Sullivan says. âThere was a lot of feelings that came up hearing him and seeing him even in animated form. To see the love he was able to spread to Taserface (and) to also soften the edges on Yondu and all of those guys as well is a fun space to explore.â
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This week's second episode (streaming now) of âWhat IfâŠ?,â which reimagines key characters and story lines in the MCU, posits what would have happened if TâChalla, aka Black Panther, had been taken to space as a kid by Yondu (Michael Rooker) and his Ravagers gang and become Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt in the "Guardians" movies).
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While Quill is quite the cosmic rogue in the movies, Bosemanâs version of Star-Lord is a more charismatic, noble sort who brings out the good in everybody, even among the most notorious MCU baddies, but still gets embroiled in an epic heist alongside Yondu and Nebula (Karen Gillan).
âHe really approached the material as seriously and as soulfully as I imagine he approached any of his work,â says executive producer Brad Winderbaum. Boseman recorded multiple versions of T'Challa for âWhat IfâŠ?â over the course of the first season âand each one was just a nuanced performance based on a lot of deep thought you could tell from his part and how we wanted to portray the character.
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âIt was such a devastating blow to find out about his passing and it was frankly so humbling to know that he spent any time working with us during that periodâ when Boseman battled colon cancer.
Sullivan never ran into Boseman at Marvel movie premieres or functions, but does remember sitting across from him on a flight. "It was a red eye, so there wasn't a lot of chumming around. But man, he was one of my favorite actors,â Sullivan says. âI donât think Black Panther had come out at that point. And even still, to try and introduce yourself to Black Panther as Taserface, you let the man enjoy his flight.â
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Getting to play Taserface again was âextremely exciting and what I was hoping for,â but also allowed Sullivan to give the villain âsome dimension,â he says. âWhen your character is involved in an explosion in the Marvel universe, you never know. There's an opportunity, you don't see him dead. I was always wondering if he'd come back around and this is the chance to do that.â
And for Sullivan, thereâs a thoughtful âbeautyâ to the âWhat IfâŠ?â concept. âOverall as I watched the episode, the overarching theme for me was, yeah, we all wish things could have gone differently in our lives,â he says. âWe all wish Chadwick Boseman was around to continue to play Black Panther. At the end of it, there was a solemnity that I just didn't expect. âWhat if?â is a question that we ask ourselves about a lot of things.â