Chadwick Boseman Awarded Posthumous Emmy for ‘What If..?’

Chadwick Boseman was awarded a posthumous Emmy for his final role, namely his voice work in Marvel’s What If…? According to The Holywood Reporter, Boseman won in the outstanding character voice-over performance category for voicing his iconic character T’Challa in the “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” episode. Boseman was nominated with F. Murray Abraham (Moon Knight), Julie Andrews (Bridgerton), Maya Rudolph (Big Mouth), Stanley Tucci (Central Park), Jessica Walter (Archer), and Jeffrey Wright (What If…?). It was the first and final Emmy nomination and win for Boseman, who tragically died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43. Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf.

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in ‘What If…?
Credit: Marvel via Polygon

Chadwick Boseman’s Wife Honors Him With Emmy Acceptance

Ledward gave a lengthy acceptance speech to the crowd at downtown Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, saying:

“When I learned that Chad was nominated for this award, I started thinking about everything that was going on when he was recording — everything that was going on in the world and in our world and just being in such awe of his commitment and his dedication. And what a beautifully aligned moment it really is that one of the last things he would work on would not only be revisting 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. 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?’ Thank you so much for the honor — Chad would be so honored, and I’m honored on his behalf.”

Chadwick Boseman was one of three actors to be awarded posthumous Emmy nominations this year. The others were Norm MacDonald and Jessica Walter. Boseman’s work as T’Challa in the MCU made the character an icon, and before his death, he was set to continue with the franchise. While many (including Boseman’s brother) were hoping for T’Challa to be recast, the decision was made to have T’Challa die in the franchise. We will learn more about how this plays out in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is coming to theaters on November 11.

For now, Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as the beloved character on What If…? is an honor to the actor’s memory.