Today’s What If…? delivered another dark alternate MCU timeline, with episode 6 offering a twist on both Iron Man and Black Panther. In “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?”, Tony (Mick Wingert) never became the Armored Avenger because he was rescued from the Ten Rings by Erik Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), who went on to use Stark’s power and position to wage a war between the US and Wakanda, as part of a complex plan to gain the Black Panther’s powers.
This was another episode with a stacked cast list of Marvel A-listers, then. From the Iron Man side of things, Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Paul Bettany (JARVIS), and Leslie Bibb (Christine Everhart) reprised their roles, while Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa), Angela Bassett (Ramona), John Kani (T’Chaka), and Danai Gurira (Okoye) returned from Black Panther. Since a young Shuri also featured prominently, you might be wondering if that was Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s genius sister.
Wright did not lend her voice to What If…?, however. In her place, Ozioma Akagha played the Wakandan princess. Akagha is probably most known for her various video game voice roles, in such titles as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Half-Life: Alyx, and Deathloop. She’s also the voice of Bumblebee in Cartoon Network’s DC cartoon Teen Titans GO! Likewise, Okagha is already part of the MCU thanks to her recurring role as Tamar on Hulu’s Runaways.
Though she isn’t involved in this animated show, Wright is currently shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With the sequel set to focus on the many popular supporting characters from the first film, Shuri is expected to have a bigger presence this time around. For once, she looks set to spark up a friendship with fellow tech prodigy Riri Williams, as played by Dominque Thorne, who’s making her debut in the movie before starring in the Ironheart series.
What If…? continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
Published: Sep 15, 2021 02:06 pm