Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The late Chadwick Boseman has received another honor, this time winning an award on the first night of this year’s Creative Emmy Awards this past weekend.
The actor, who passed away in August 2020, won the posthumous honor for his voiceover role as T’Challa a.k.a. Black Panther for the animated Marvel anthology series What If on Saturday evening (September 3rd). The series made its premiere on the Disney+ streaming platform almost exactly one year to the day that he died. At the ceremony, Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward accepted the award on his behalf.
“What a beautifully aligned moment it really is that one of the last things he would work on would not only be revisiting a character that was so important to him and his career and to the world, but also that it be an exploration of something new, diving into a new potential future — particularly with everything he spoke about purpose and finding the reason that you are here on the planet on this very time,” Ledward said in her speech. She continued, drawing on the theme of the anthology series: “You can’t understand your purpose unless you’re willing to ask ‘What if’ ― unless you’re willing to say, ‘What if the universe is conspiring in my favor? What if it’s me?’”
Boseman’s win was significant as he was among a strong field of nominees which included F. Murray Abraham (Moon Knight), Julie Andrews (Bridgerton), Maya Rudolph (Big Mouth), Stanley Tucci (Central Park), Jessica Walter (Archer) and Jeffrey Wright (What If…?). Boseman was one of two who were nominated after their death in the category, with Jessica Walter being the other after she passed away in March 2021.
His portrayal of T’Challa as a humble and universally beloved Star-Lord in the “What if … T’Challa became a Star-Lord” episode received high acclaim upon its release. “Me, I am just an ordinary Junker,” says Boseman at the outset of the episode. “But there is one name you may know me by.” The actor and Howard University graduate passed away at the age of 43 after a four-year private battle with colon cancer.
The sequel to Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, will hit theaters in November.
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