Marvel's "Eyes of Wakanda" animated spin-off from the "Black Panther" franchise arrives on Disney Plus in just a few short weeks, but audiences at the Annecy Animation Festival got a special sneak peek of the first episode on Monday.
Director Todd Harris introduced the episode, titled “Into the Lion’s Den,” before a Q&A session on June 9. It's the first of four 30-minute-long episodes in the series, which spans Wakanda's 3,000-year-old history to spotlight some of the nation's bravest warriors. Harris, a long-time Marvel Studios storyboard artist who worked on "Black Panther" and its sequel, said the show follows an "anthology" adjacent format."
"We have the spark or impetus for the show: someone takes something that doesn’t belong to them and like any person or institution, they make a concerted effort to get it back,” Harris told the audience via a Marvel press release.
“Wakanda is a 3,000-year-old society,” he continued. “They have a very succinct self-identity, and they are preserving that. We get the chance to see the persistence and character of Wakandans. The premise of the show is: What’s the kind of culture that builds the Black Panther? You see this even in their generals, their sergeants, everyday citizens.”
The show's first episode opens in Crete in 1260 B.C. with a Wakandan general (voiced by Cress Williams) who abandons his post to run a band of pirates. When he steals the nation's top-secret technological treasures to forge his own kingdom, a disgraced former Dora Milaje named Noni (voiced by Winnie Harlow) sets out to bring him to justice.
As she braves the seas and brawls her way through the tyrant's henchmen, she uncovers the Hatut Zaraze, a Wakandan secret service tasked with retrieving stolen Vibranium artifacts.
"Eyes of Wakanda," which premieres on Disney Plus on August 6, unfolds over different eras as Hatut Zaraze agents track down stolen artifacts throughout history, offering an unprecedented look at Wakanda's history.
“Everybody in Wakanda is like a physicist… you see their patience over centuries to see work, that they will never be able to see get finished but they believe in their mission as a culture, to see this work through," Harris said. "So we kind of hopscotch through time, as we see these people pursue the goals of their country, which is to preserve the secret of their technology and who they are.”
Surprising cameos in store
Notably, Harris revealed during the Q&A that Marvel characters we know and love will make appearances throughout the show, including Iron Fist, the subject of Netflix's spin-off series of the same name and a member of "The Defenders."
The "Iron Fist" show failed to impress fans, with many criticizing how Danny Rand's iteration rarely used his titular powers. Controversy also surrounded the character embodying "white savior" tropes, fueled in part by a white actor being cast in the role of a martial arts superhero.
Those problematic elements aside, "Eyes of Wakanda" marks a chance for Marvel to take the backlash to heart. And it seems like Harris has a distinctive vision for the character.
"The only thing I can tell you, which is what I was told to be able to tell you, is there will be an Iron Fist in here, and not the Iron Fist you'd expect," Harris said.
The character’s legacy spans over a century in the comics, making the anthology format an ideal way for the MCU to revive Iron Fist and broaden his on-screen story.
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