Despite the fact that talented actor Chadwick Boseman is no longer with us, his outstanding work preserves his legacy. As the star of Black Panther, Chadwick has had a greater influence on the world than most actors. According to Hollywood Reporter, Boseman’s wife accepted a posthumous award for his final performance in Marvel’s What If…? series during the Creative Arts Emmys.
The Creative Arts Emmys awarded Chadwick for outstanding character voice-over performance. In the “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” episode, he voiced Star-Lord T’Challa. In this alternate reality, the prince never inherits Wakandan throne and strength of the Black Panther. Instead, aliens looking for Peter Quill accidentally abduct a young T’Challa.
Taylor Simone Ledward, Boseman’s wife, accepted the award in his honor.
She said:
“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. You can’t understand your purpose unless you ask what if? What if the universe is conspiring in my favor? What if it’s me? Chad would be so honored and I am honored on his behalf.”
Boseman won posthumous nominations and wins for two of his final live action roles in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods prior to receiving his Emmy award. Boseman won the vast majority of the smaller ceremonies, particularly Ma Rainey’s. Some of his significant victories include Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actor for the Image Awards (Ma Rainey’s and Da 5 Bloods, respectively), Best Performance in a Drama for the Golden Globes (Ma Rainey’s), and Outstanding Performance (Ma Rainey’s) for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars for Ma Rainey’s.
After a protracted fight with cancer, Boseman passed away at the end of August 2020. Boseman was supposed to make an appearance in the upcoming Black Panther sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which changed its focus to be a tribute to both him and T’Challa. His alma mater, Howard University collaborated with Netflix to establish a scholarship in Boseman’s name and rename its fine arts department in his honor.