Brand new images of Eyes of Wakanda reveals new details of the anthology series 

Eyes of Wakanda is a four-part animated anthology series that seeks to delve deep into the lore of the mystical kingdom. Eyes of Wakanda is slated to release later this year in August on Disney+, and the creator and showrunner, Todd Harris, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly for an exclusive interview, shedding much light on his upcoming project and sharing invaluable insights.

Unlike any other overtly publicized origin story, Eyes of Wakanda will present itself as an anthology series that illustrates four different eras in the kingdom of Wakanda. While the kingdom and the setting remain the same, the social and political forces, along with the player, will change with each changing epoch, all the while maintaining a clearly distinguishable progressive narrative that ties in all of the ensuing action.

Showrunner Todd Harris was a storyboard artist and a student of history prior to working as the director on Eyes of Wakanda, and in many ways, the upcoming animated show can be defined as a passion project for him. He was always interested in the intersection of Marvel's narratives and historical fiction and had been working away to bring the animated series to life for a prolonged period of time. Here's everything that you need to know.

What is Eyes of Wakanda all about?

As mentioned earlier, Eyes of Wakanda will present different eras and historical periods in the kingdom of Wakanda with an underlying connected narrative. Harris described it best when he said:

"I really liked the idea of everyone's view of history, The story starts off during the end of the Western Bronze Age, and that spark sets off this giant spy-espionage story that reverberates through time.... You get Wakanda-grade James Bond, and sometimes a Jane Bond, with the backdrop of all the awesomeness that is Wakanda."

The EW report further mentions that Eyes of Wakanda will feature the Hatut Zaraze, roughly translating to "Dogs of War," and defined as a tightly knit espionage organization with divisions of soldiers tasked with retrieving the all-important Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of the kingdom of Wakanda. Harris also remarked:

"We try to mirror the actual spirit of the nation of Wakanda by keeping as many secrets as possible. When an inciting incident releases some of these things into the wild, they've got to, in a very hush hush kind of way, make sure that these things don't turn into a bigger problem. We saw what happened when one disc got into the hands of one Super Soldier — it changed the course of the world."

It is needless to say that Vibranium has been the pivotal aspect in all the previous iterations of Black Panther and has assumed a central significance in any storyline set against the backdrop of Wakanda. Perhaps Eyes of Wakanda will explain the inner workings of this mysterious, all-powerful element for the first time in significant detail. It is owing to the deposits of Vibranium that Wakanda has been able to rise to such affluence and self-sufficiency in the modern MCU.

Consequently, a society that has come to evolve in such a manner is reliant on a strong set of individual values and principles that are necessary for the sustenance of the overall kingdom. At the same time, Wakanda has presented a unique example to the world in the sense that it did not over-expand or encroach upon other territories with imperialistic ambitions. The fuel that drives such a righteous civilization will be at the heart of Eyes of Wakanda, as explained by Harris himself:

"We have characters that are very important in the show, but it also examines what kind of person Wakanda makes. A 10,000-year-old society. What kind of fortitude, what kind of lack of temptation to over expand? All these different things to keep things from imploding, all these different things that have been the detriment to a lot of history...how did they avoid that and what kind of person does that make? What kind of rock-solid principles keeps them on the straight and narrow that balance that's so hard for everyone alive?"

Apart from the regular characters from different historical stages inside Wakanda, Eyes of Wakanda might also feature characters from varied backgrounds, such as Iron Fist, or even a woman figure wearing a Viking shield maiden garb, as revealed in the first look photos. Harris further added:

"We're all in this together and history has proven that. We like to think there are silos of people in history, but there's the Fertile Crescent; the Mediterranean; the intersections between Eurasia, Asia, north Africa, and all the different cultures that all created this mesh. That's what that imagery is supposed to invoke: It's not a rare circumstance that we're all here again together."

Who is in the cast of Eyes of Wakanda?

Eyes of Wakanda brings together an ensemble cast of voice actors that includes Cress Williams as the Lion and Winnie Harlow as Noni. These two would be joined by Larry Herron, Patricia Belcher, Lynn Whitfield, Adam Gold, Jona Xiao, Isaac Robinson Smith, Zeke Alton, and Gary Anthony Williams. Anika Noni Rose of Princess and the Frog fame will also be voicing a yet unrevealed character on Eyes of Wakanda. Harris praised her when he said:

"She's one of the ones I want to get a toy made of the most. She came in there like an archangel and just blew the scene away."

Another big name to be associated with the animated series is that of House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint. The showrunner was replete with praise for the extraordinary actor:

Trending

"He plays a jaded agent who is jaded for all the right reasons. He believes in his job, he's here for his family, and he's so devoted to the cause, but sometimes principles outweigh duty. (Toussaint's) so good at threading that needle between that hard and soft."

Eyes of Wakanda is set to release this August on Disney+.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback