Disney+ animated series Eyes of Wakanda could be a cultural masterpiece

With the new Black Panther spin-off animated series Eyes of Wakanda from Marvel Animation set to premiere on Disney+ on August 6, showrunner and director Todd Harris is about to turn the franchise upside on its head – but that's a good thing in this instance. In a recent interview with Variety, Harris revealed some great sneak peek news that you may not know as well as a few things that may surprise you.

Eyes of Wakanda will explore the rich ancient 3-thousand-year history of Wakanda as a proud nation seeking to protect its most valuable resource – Vibranium.  The series format will be similar to the anthology format; however, unlike in anthology works, the four-episode series will connect in some way. What we do know is that the series will span thousands of years of Wakandan history as the first episode will be set in 1260 B.C.

Wakandan 007 agents

Harris revealed that in the first episode (titled "Into the Lion's Den"), a Wakandan secret agent named Noni is in pursuit of a man named ‘Lion’. Lion has defected from Wakanda and has gone rogue with stolen Wakandan technology and likely Vibranium as well. Noni, voiced by actress and supermodel Winner Harlow (Grown-ish) tracks down Lion, voiced by Cress Williams (Black Lighting), to the Greek island of Crete, the former center of the ancient Minoan civilization.

Noni was a disgraced Dora Milaje, the Wakandan female warrior forces. As a reference to the Black Panther movies, the Dora Milaje warrior characters were Okoye, Ayo, Aneka, Nomble, and Yama. I suspect that Noni is a Hatut Zeraze (meaning Dogs of War), an elite Wakandan spy, similar to Lupita Nyong’o’s Black Panther character Nakia.

As a spy, Noni could escape her disgraced position and still work on behalf of the Wakandan government to recover stolen artifacts and technology. I can speculate that Noni may be attempting to redeem her disgraced status by working as a spy. What I can say is that the idea of an ancient Wakandan force of 007-type spies as far back as 1260 B.C. is fascinating and explains why the Hatut Zaraze are so highly trained and effective.

Hand-drawn imagery

As a nod to the old way the Disney Studios used to hand-draw their animated features and a way to express the culturally muted mood of ancient times, Harris revealed that the opening sequences are hand-drawn by artists at AKA Studio. While maintaining a modern sci-fi aesthetic with hand-drawn visuals, Harris wants to depict a show that is "hopscotching through centuries" as each 30-minute episode will take place during a different period

With continuity in mind, I suspect the series creators will do well to create beautiful tapestries of art connecting these stories across a rich 3K-year history of Wakandan culture, technology, and nationality.

Black Panther mantle

As Eyes of Wakanda time-travels across hundreds of years of storytelling, it will most certainly compel us to speak to the various Wakandans who have taken on the mantle of Black Panther - possibly back to Bronze Age Black Panther (Bashenga). As part of Marvel's MCU Phase 6, the stakes for Marvel Studios are high with the slate of MCU films, series, and animation works beginning to be rolled out.

The Black Panther mantle as a title and power that has been passed on for centuries is significant to show and reveal that rich historical succession that certainly has more meaning for the future of the Black Panther franchise and Black Panther 3.

Marvel Studios must be quite confident in Eyes of Wakanda as they premiered the first episode in France at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 9. While celebrating the best in international animation, participants aim to reveal their best in animation to the world. At a Q&A at the festival, Harris told audiences this about Wakandan society:

“They have a very succinct self-identity, and they are preserving that…The premise of the show is: What’s the kind of culture that builds the Black Panther?”

Building a culture that supports the themes and ideals of Black Panther is certainly an interesting story to tell. In the case of animation form, it's great to see, and I, as well as Black Panther fans alike, can’t wait to see these rich and culturally relevant images on screen. Given that Harris described the Wakandan society as the Star Trek of Africa, then Eye of Wakanda just may be the premiere futuristic cultural event, this side of the galaxy!