The first season of What If...? was arguably where the animated series peaked, and one of its many highlights came when we were introduced to "Star-Lord T'Challa."
This Variant of T'Challa had been taken from Earth as a boy and grew up with the Ravagers. Even without the Heart-Shaped Herb, the Wakandan was a hero, suiting up as a fun, badass version of Star-Lord who eventually joined The Watcher's Guardians of the Multiverse.
Chadwick Boseman recorded his lines for What If...? before he died. Marvel Zombies, which began production after the actor died, features the Black Panther from "What If... Zombies?!" Rather than recast the role, Marvel Animation decided not to give the hero any lines.
Talking to Screen Rant, showrunner Bryan Andrews addressed that decision and confirmed that there were once plans to follow What If...? with a Star-Lord T'Challa spin-off.
"That’s why we chose to have Peter [Parker] narrate that moment. We didn’t have Chadwick. If we had Chadwick, it would’ve been completely different choices," he explained. "If we had Chadwick, he would’ve had his own Star-Lord T’Challa spinoff show long before we did the zombie thing."
"But being able to revisit his character in that way, the way it plays out, it was another way to be with him in some strange way, even though there were no words. You know what I mean?" Andrews continued. "It’s still Chadwick’s Black Panther, and that’s rad."
Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum was also on hand to say, "And we actually showed an early animatic to Ryan Coogler to get his notes, and he had some great ideas in that sequence that were really additive."
Had Boseman not passed away after battling cancer, he'd have no doubt been fully established as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's lead characters by now. His loss has left a huge void in the franchise that Marvel Studios seemingly intends to fill by casting a new T'Challa in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars.
In Marvel Zombies, after the Avengers are overtaken by a zombie plague, a desperate group of survivors discovers the key to bringing an end to the super-powered undead, racing across a dystopian landscape and risking life and limb to save their world.
The series will feature the voices of Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Awkwafina (Katy), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), Randall Park (Jimmy Woo), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) and Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), among others.
Marvel Zombies was created by Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells. The series is executive produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells, and is produced by Danielle Costa and Carrie Wassenaar.
Run, lurch, but definitely don’t walk to Disney+ on September 24 to catch the four-episode Marvel Zombies.