What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?
An alternate universe where T'Challa becomes Star-Lord.
"What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" is the second installment of the first season of the animated series *What If...?*, which adapts the Marvel Comics concept. The episode reimagines the events of the MCU films *Guardians of the Galaxy* (2014) and *Black Panther* (2018) by having Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers kidnap a young T'Challa instead of Peter Quill. Story editor Matthew Chauncey wrote the episode, and Bryan Andrews directed it.
The series is narrated by Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher. The voice cast includes Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, Carrie Coon, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John Kani, Sean Gunn, Chris Sullivan, Seth Green, and Danai Gurira. Development began by September 2018, with Andrews joining shortly after, and many actors reprising their MCU roles. Blue Spirit handled animation, with Stephan Franck as head of animation. The episode highlights T'Challa's positive influence across the galaxy and is dedicated to Boseman, who died in August 2020.
Released on Disney+ on August 18, 2021, the episode was seen by critics as an improvement over the series premiere. They praised its premise, heist plot, and alterations to existing MCU characters, such as a reformed Thanos played by Brolin. Performances by Boseman, Hounsou, and Brolin were also commended, with Boseman posthumously winning a Primetime Emmy Award for his role.
**Plot**
In 1988, the Ravagers are hired by an unknown party to retrieve Peter Quill from Earth. Ravager leader Yondu Udonta sends his underlings Kraglin Obfonteri and Taserface, who mistakenly abduct young T'Challa from Wakanda.
Twenty years later, T'Challa has become a famous intergalactic pirate and hero called Star-Lord. He reforms the Ravagers, inspired by Earth's Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and convinces Thanos to abandon his plan to eliminate half of all life and join the Ravagers. T'Challa believes Yondu tried to return him to Wakanda as a child, but thinks it was destroyed.
After obtaining an orb containing the Power Stone and recruiting Korath the Pursuer, the group is approached by Thanos's adopted daughter Nebula. She proposes a heist to steal the Embers of Genesis from Taneleer Tivan, the Collector—cosmic dust that can terraform ecosystems and end galactic hunger.
Quick Facts
- Title
- What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?
- Series
- What If...?
- Season
- 1
- Episode
- 2
- Director
- Bryan Andrews
- Writer
- Matthew Chauncey
- Editor
- Graham Fisher
- Released
- 2021-08-18
- Length
- 32 minutes
- Guests Title
- Cast
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- Next
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Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In 1988, the Ravagers are hired by an unknown party to retrieve Peter Quill from Earth. Ravager leader Yondu Udonta assigns this task to his underlings Kraglin Obfonteri and Taserface, who mistakenly abduct a young T'Challa from Wakanda. Twenty years later, T'Challa has become a famous intergalactic pirate and hero known as Star-Lord, reformed the Ravagers using the Earth hero Robin Hood and his Merry Men as inspiration, and persuaded Thanos to abandon his plan of eliminating half of all life in the universe and join the Ravagers. He also believes that Udonta attempted to return him to Wakanda as a child, but it had been destroyed.
After obtaining an orb containing the Power Stone and recruiting Korath the Pursuer into the Ravagers, the group are approached by Thanos' adopted daughter Nebula, who proposes a heist to steal one of Taneleer Tivan / T
Reader's Guide
The episode is significant for being the second installment of the What If...? series, which explores alternate timelines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is dedicated to Chadwick Boseman, who died in August 2020 and posthumously won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance as T'Challa. Critics found the episode an improvement over the series premiere, praising its premise, heist plot, and changes to existing MCU characters such as Josh Brolin's reformed Thanos. The episode shows the impact T'Challa would have across the galaxy, transforming the Ravagers into a noble operation and creating a power vacuum that allows the Collector to become a supervillain. The writing process involved input from Boseman, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and Black Panther writer-director Ryan Coogler to ensure faithfulness to the characters. The episode's tone was inspired by heist films, particularly Ocean's Eleven, but became slightly more serious following Boseman's death.
Did You Know?
- The episode was written around January and February 2019.
- Chadwick Boseman read early versions of the script to ensure they stayed true to T'Challa's character.
- A running joke throughout the episode is that Thanos still believes his plan to eliminate half the universe would have worked.
- Fred Tatasciore voices both Drax and Corvus Glaive in the episode, replacing original actors Dave Bautista and Michael James Shaw.
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