It is no secret that the Marvel’s Avengers version of Black Panther has some massive shoes to fill. Not only did Chadwick Boseman deliver some memorable and impactful performances as T’Challa in the MCU, but his tragic passing last year ensures that whoever becomes Black Panther next will be under a lot of scrutiny. While Crystal Dynamics did delay its reveal of War for Wakanda out of respect to the late actor, a new voice was still necessary for the Marvel’s Avengers character.
Crystal Dynamics found its Black Panther actor in Christopher Judge, who many gamers will recognize due to his standout performance as Kratos in God of War 2018. In an interview with Game Rant, Hannah MacLeod and Scott Walters sat down to discuss War for Wakanda. Unsurprisingly, the topic of T’Challa and Judge’s performance as the character came up, and MacLeod had some interesting things to share about the actor’s work.
Christopher Judge’s Initial Thoughts On The Black Panther Role
Taking on a role as any Marvel character is surely intimidating, as the brand has only grown more and more popular over the past decade. The MCU has made B Tier characters like Iron Man as popular as Spider-Man, while obscure figures like The Guardians of the Galaxy are now household names. However, no film in the MCU has had the cultural impact that Black Panther has, ensuring that any successors to the Oscar-winning adaptation have some serious competition.
This alone would make the role of Black Panther an important one, but Chadwick Boseman’s passing has only added to its significance. As mentioned by MacLeod, the loss of Boseman initially made Christopher Judge wary of the role. These worries are understandable, as the actor’s passing hit hard for casual and diehard fans alike.
“He’s mentioned before that he was hesitant to take the role because of Chadwick Boseman’s iconic performance, but I think he brought a lot of gravitas and power to the role that I really wasn’t expecting.”
Despite the great deal of responsibility that comes with playing Black Panther, and the fact that his performance will surely be compared to Boseman’s, Judge took the part. When players experience War for Wakanda on August 17, they will be hearing his take on T’Challa. Alongside a Wakandan accent and a completely different tone from what was heard when he portrayed Kratos, it seems like fans can expect some memorable scenes.
Christopher Judge’s Performance In War for Wakanda
Marvel’s Avengers' War for Wakanda expansion will see Judge having some humorous exchanges with Shuri and intense battles with Klaue, but it seems like one of his most interesting moments will not be in a cutscene or conversation. As highlighted by MacLeod, there is a special intel document that players can find in Marvel’s Avengers which sees Christopher Judge’s performance reaching new heights. In fact, his acting was supposedly strong enough in this sequence to bring some of the developers to tears.
“We knew going in we have Chris Judge, so he’s going to bring a lot to it. But there’s a particular intel document that he performed that sticks with me to this day. It made us all cry. His performance was so nuanced and difficult, but in a good way. So I hope people engage with some of that secondary narrative. Chris really crafted a T’Challa that was unique to our game but felt like it had the weight of those decades of legacy on top of it.”
Clearly, Judge is taking the role seriously, with an incredible amount of effort being put into bringing the character to life. Assuming that his performance is this strong throughout, fans could have an emotional story on their hands. With an intel item being enough to make some members of the Crystal Dynamics team cry, it is exciting to think of what Judge will be able to do when working with his fellow cast members. For Marvel's Avengers players interested in hearing this dialogue themselves, it seems like keeping a close eye on the DLC’s collectibles would be a wise idea.
Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.