I believe that Eyes of Wakanda will add a lot to the MCU's Black Panther franchise

Eyes of Wakanda, the animated show, is set to release on August 6, 2025. The four-episode animated show has Todd Harris as showrunner, and one of the writers involved in the series is Marc Bernardin. The show promises to trace the history of Wakanda.

In an Entertainment Weekly article published on May 26, 2025, showrunner Todd Harris provided insight into what Eyes of Wakanda is about. Harris teased the storyline of the animated series, saying:

"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."

Harris further revealed that Eyes of Wakanda would follow Hatut Zaraze/"Dogs of War" /War Dogs as they try to retrieve stolen Vibranium artifacts across the world. He elaborated:

"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."

We knew that the animated show would follow the Wakandan spies throughout history as they complete the mission of retrieving stolen Vibranium. This is why I feel that the show will add a lot to the Wakandan lore, which has remained largely unexplored for now.

Who are the Hatut Zaraze from Eyes of Wakanda and the Black Panther franchise?

We heard the word "War Dog" for the first time in 2018's Black Panther, where N'Jadaka/Killmonger's father, N'Jobu, who was also the royal prince, was one. That movie introduced that there are multiple Wakandan War Dogs, and it seems that Eyes of Wakanda will introduce people to several new characters who are part of the Hatut Zaraze.

The War Dogs/Hatut Zaraze were described as the covert spies of Wakanda that were tasked with guarding Wakanda and reclaiming stolen Vibranium. It would be wise to compare Eyes of Wakanda's Hatut Zaraze to the CIA. The official Disney Blog from January 10, 2025, has Marvel Animation head Brad Winderbaum equating the War Dogs to "Wakanda's CIA." The exact words in the blog, along with Winderbaum's quote, are:

Think of the Hatut Zaraze “like Wakanda’s CIA,” Winderbaum explained. “They often have to venture out to regain stolen Vibranium, but they also have to keep secrets well-hidden so that Wakanda can ward off invaders and stay safe. The Hatut Zaraze are challenged in different ways to stay loyal to Wakanda as they discover the rest of the world around them.”

Thus, it looks like the main characters in each of the series will have to wrestle between their loyalty to their sworn duty towards protecting Wakanda and their sense of morality as they witness several systematic injustices throughout history. One of the important plot lines of the 2018 Black Panther movie is that Killmonger's father, N'Jobu, was a War Dog who supposedly betrayed Wakanda by helping Ulysses Klaue steal Vibranium from Wakanda.

However, N'Jobu explains the reason why he helped Klaue steal Vibranium from Wakanda. N'Jobu, who had been in the U.S. for a while, witnessed several injustices against the African-American community, and decided to do something by helping steal Vibranium and manufacturing enough weapons for the oppressed people across the world.

Thus, through the show, we will learn whether N'Jobu was the first War Dog to decide to do something about the injustices, or if there were others before him. It is also worth noting that the show is not set in another universe.

Eyes of Wakanda is canon to the MCU

Unlike What If...? and X-Men '97, Eyes of Wakanda is set in the mainline MCU that we have seen since 2008's Iron Man. This was confirmed by Brad Winderbaum during a 2024 appearance on the Official Marvel Podcast. He said:

"Eyes Of Wakanda, more than any other show we're doing in animation, ties in the MCU... It's both about the history of Wakanda, but it also expands into the greater MCU at different time periods. So if you're a fan of the movies, I think this show is going to be a real treat."

Therefore, we will get a better look at Wakanda's rich history in the MCU, which sounds promising.

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Consisting of four episodes, the animated series will be available on Disney+ from August 6, 2025. It remains to be seen if the series is made available on the same day or the studio will follow a different release strategy.

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