It’s a tragic fact that we’ve seen the last of Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther in live-action, but it seems we still have one performance left from the much-missed star to come in the MCU. We know that T’Challa is the focal point of an episode of Marvel’s upcoming What If…? animated series, which imagines a scenario where the Wakandan king is abducted into space instead of Peter Quill, making him Star-Lord in this alternate reality.
Now, some awesome new fan art from UltraRaw26 imagines Star-Panther, as fans have taken to calling this alt-version of the hero, in live-action. The left side of the piece depicts T’Challa in his typical Black Panther suit, with Wakanda behind him, while the right side dresses him in Quill’s signature coat, with the Star-Lord helmet in his hands and the cosmos in the background.
“Yes,” the artist says in his caption. “We will see his one last performance as Star Lord in @marvelstudios WHAT IF series. And that one will be another beautiful performance.”
It’s yet to be officially confirmed whether Boseman was able to record his vocal performance for What If…? prior to his death, but the show has been in the works for a long time now and footage of the Star-Panther episode was revealed at D23 2019. So, there’s a good chance that the project was already completed. Recent reports have also claimed that Boseman did indeed record all his lines before he passed away.
As we know, What If…? will include various other alternate takes on familiar heroes or unlikely mash-ups. Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter will become Captain Britain, for instance, after she takes the Super Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers.
The 10-episode first season is expected to land on Disney Plus in mid-2021, though an exact release date has yet to be revealed. As always, though, watch this space for more.
