Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, TV | Tagged: marvel, tv, what if

What If…?: Chadwick Boseman Approached His Performace Like a Play

Last summer, we lost a great talent to cancer far too early. Chadwick Boseman wasn't with us nearly enough, and it's still so heartbreaking to know how much he managed to do while battling cancer. It's one of those things that can really help you get out of bed sometimes. Marvel fans will get to have another performance by Boseman in the second episode of the upcoming What If…? animated series. Director Bryan Andrews explained that Boseman didn't just read his lines for the role during the virtual press junket. He performed them like he was in a play.

"It was amazing being able to work with him," Andrews explained. "We only got a small moment 'cause our episodes are so short. Compared to everyone who was able to enjoy his presence on Black Panther or even on Civil War. We had him for a little moment to do our thing, and we're so grateful for it. I think he may have been even one of the first actors that signed on and said, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna do that voice." And we were so excited 'cause we really, really, really wanted to work with Chadwick, and we just loved Black Panther. And we love him. And about the record, specifically, something that was kind of fun is he's theatrically trained, and sometimes you get actors in the booth who like to work differently. Based on the needs or the wants of the particular actor at play, sometimes they don't wanna just hit the line, hit the line, hit the line, be done, move on to the next one. It's cool.

But some read it like a scene, and he really wanted to do it like a play. Like, reading the scene descriptions in between really builds it out like a play. And because that's how he's trained, that's what he's comfortable with, and that's what he wanted to do. And it was so much fun being able to do that. It's like, we got to basically read lines with Chadwick Boseman. In our non-actor trained way," Andrews said with a laugh. "We do the best we can, but doing a performance with Chadwick, amazing. So, it was awesome. And, you know, none of us knew what he was going through at the time, of course.

"And he came, and he brought it, and he had a lot of fun," Andrews concluded. And it was really great to hear him talk about he was excited to play this particular version of T'Challa because it was different. Because it was a version of him being able to play the king, but the king without the mantle, without the mantle of royalty, and all the other things that go with it. Completely different spin; he could lighten it up, he could get a little bit more jokey with it and stuff. He was excited to bring that flavor to T'Challa and give it to the audience, so we can see a slightly different version of T'Challa. He was really excited about it, and we were so excited, and we're blessed to have him in this show. He did an amazing job."

This is a direction that directors should take with actors who aren't as familiar with voice acting. Most actors have done some form of live performance, and perhaps Boseman's way of performing his line might help with some clunky performances, some of which are in What If…? They got a really special performance from Boseman in that second episode, and it's still so heartbreaking that he isn't with us anymore.

Marvel's What If…? flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Coming to Disney+ this August 11th from director Bryan Andrews and head writer AC Bradley, Marvel Studios' first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU (watched over by Jeffrey Wright's The Watcher), featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles (based on details previously released).

• Ant-Man: Paul Rudd as Ant-Man and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
• Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
• Captain America: Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, and Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Karen Gillan as Nebula, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Michael Rooker as Yondu, and Djimon Hounsou as Korath
• Thor: Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Taika Waititi as Korg, and Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster
• What If…? MCU: Benicio Del Toro as The Collector, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Josh Brolin as Thanos, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark.

Bleeding Cool TV on Instagram: For all of the stuff too random and bizarre to make the site, make sure to follow us on Instagram: Bleeding Cool TV (@bleedingcooltv).

BCTV Daily Dispatch: For a look at what's going on across the television and streaming landscape, sign up for Bleeding Cool's daily email round-up of the news you need to know here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!