Chadwick Boseman wins posthumous Creative Arts Emmy for ‘What If…?’

”Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman received a posthumous Creative Arts Emmy Award for his voice performance in the Disney+ series ”What If…?” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boseman’s wife Taylor Simone Ledward accepted the honour on his behalf during Saturday’s ceremony at downtown Microsoft Theater here.

It marked both the actor’s first win and first Emmy nomination.

Boseman, who played Wakanda King T’Challa aka superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), won the award in the outstanding character voice-over performance category in the ”What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” episode. The character of Star-Lord/ Peter Quill is played by Chris Pratt in the MCU.

Ledward said when she learned that her husband was nominated for the award, she started thinking about everything that was going on in their life when an ailing Boseman was recording for the series.

”And 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,” she said.

”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 favour, what if it’s me?’ Thank you so much for the honour – Chad would be so honoured, and I’m honoured on his behalf,” she added.

The actor was nominated in the category alongside 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 passed away in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer at the age of 43. He was previously nominated for a posthumous Oscar for lead actor for his role in ”Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.