The greatness of King T’Challa truly lives on, after late actor Chadwick Boseman bags another honor for his iconic character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) animated series What if…?.
Boseman won his first Emmy, a posthumous award, for Outstanding Character Voice-Over performance for T’Challa last Saturday, during the first night of this year’s Creative Arts Emmy at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Nominated for the same recognition were Moon Knight’s F. Murray Abraham, Bridgerton’s Julie Andrews, Big Mouth’s Maya Rudolph, Central Park’s Stanley Tucci, What if…?’s Jeffrey Wright, and late actress Jessica Walter for Archer.
“When I learned Chad was nominated, I started thinking of everything that was going on in the world and our world and being so in awe of his commitment and dedication and what a beautiful moment that one of the last things he would work on was something so important to him and to the world but also something new,” said Taylor Simone Ledward in her acceptance speech when she received the award on behalf of her late husband.
What If…?, MCU’s first animated series, follows a re-imagined multiverse answering what could unfold if its key characters embark on a completely different journey. Boseman lent his voice to T’Challa in the series for the episode “What If…T’Challa Became a Star Lord?”. It was the late actor’s last performance in the MCU before his death.
Boseman was 43 years old when he passed away in 2020 after a 4-year-long battle with colon cancer. The actor had kept his condition private and continued filming several projects such as Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in between surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. He also won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Chadwick’s mark in Hollywood not only gave recognition to all the characters he played. His most prominent role as an African leader of the fictional kingdom of Wakanda in Black Panther became a cultural milestone after the blockbuster with its predominantly black cast and crew paved the way for Ruth Carter, who became the first African American woman to win Best Costume Design, Hannah Bleacher, the only woman of color who has won the award for Best Production Design, and the first-ever Academy Award bagged for Marvel Studios.
With the upcoming second installment of Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, fans of the franchise will once again be able to hail the legacy left by King T’Challa.
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Chadwick Boseman earns posthumous Emmy nomination for ‘What If…?’