Killmonger returns in the latest poster for Marvel’s animated series What If…? Debuting to much acclaim in the 2018 MCU outing Black Panther, Killmonger will lead his own episode of the Disney+ series, with the adventure once again sending a familiar character down an unfamiliar path after asking just one question…
Killmonger arrives in the sixth episode of Marvel Studios’ #WhatIf, streaming Wednesday on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/J0juqX3Q2w
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) September 13, 2021
Erik “Killmonger” Stevens was a U.S. Navy SEAL in black ops who, during the events of Black Panther, seeks to overthrow his cousin T’Challa and assert his own rule of Wakanda, with his own opinion on how the technologically advanced nation should be run. The character certainly made an impression in Black Panther, thanks in no small part to the work of actor Michael B. Jordan, who returns to voice the character in What If…?
While details of Killmonger’s What If…? episode remain largely a mystery at present, from what we have seen so far the character will cross paths with Tony Stark during the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’s time in Afghanistan, with Killmonger rescuing him from the attack that ultimately leads to him becoming Iron Man. So, aside from having huge ramifications for Killmonger, the episode is likely to make some big changes to Tony Stark as well.
Further down the line, Killmonger is also set to become a member of The Guardians of the Multiverse, a superhero team made up of Peggy Carter, Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger, T’Challa as the new Star-Lord, Gamora, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, and Thor, who are no doubt tasked with travelling the multiverse and keeping everything in check amid the chaos of variants and alternate realities.
Picking up after the creation of the multiverse at the end of Loki’s first season finale, Marvel’s What If…? explores the various branching timelines of that multiverse in which major moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films occur differently. Led by Jeffrey Wright as Uatu AKA The Watcher, a member of the alien Watcher race who observes the multiverse, the series should provide Marvel fans with plenty of enjoyment and Easter eggs as it asks the important question, What If…?. Thus far, the series has explored such questions as What If…Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?, What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?, What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?, and, of course, What If… Zombies?!
The series has amassed quite the ensemble cast, with over fifty familiar names returning to reprise their respective MCU roles. These include Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and many, many more.
Created by A.C. Bradley, the first season of What If…? began on August 11, 2021 on Disney+ and will consist of nine episodes as part of Phase Four of the MCU. A second nine-episode season is already in development.