Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Movies, TV | Tagged: black panther, eyes of wakanda

Eyes of Wakanda: Harris on "Black Panther" Spinoff, Iron Fist & More

During Annecy, showrunner/director Todd Harris offered new insights into Marvel Animation's "Black Panther" spinoff series, Eyes of Wakanda.

With the Annecy International Animation Festival now underway, Marvel Animation's "Black Panther" franchise series Eyes of Wakanda was given a special spotlight on Monday. During a presentation that also included a screening of the first episode (S01E01: "Into the Lion's Den"), showrunner/director Todd Harris took questions and offered a lot of interesting insights into what viewers can expect from the epic, timeline-spanning animated series. The series opener is set in 1260 BC, with the spotlight on a disgraced former Dora Milaje, Noni (Winnie Harlow), who is tasked to track the "Lion" (Cress Williams).

Formerly a member of the Wakandan guard, "Lion" stole some very key technology from Wakanda before jumping ship to create his own empire with a group of pirates made up of fighters from around the globe. While each of the four chapters is self-contained and the season spans a number of time periods, a major overarching link will be the impact that Lion's actions have across the timeline. As for any familiar faces who might be making an appearance, Harris confirmed at least one (kinda). "There will be an Iron Fist in here, and not the Iron Fist you expect," the director added.

"The show is anthology adjacent. 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 shared about the overall premise behind Eyes of Wakanda. But while that may be what serves as the jumping off point for the animated series, Harris added that it's also about focusing on a society that's committed to its country's growth and success. That means being willing to sacrifice in the here and now for the hope of a brighter future.

"Wakanda is a 3,000-year-old society. They have a very succinct self-identity, and they're preserving that. We get the chance to see the kind of 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," Harris added. "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. 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."

In terms of fleshing out the history of Wakanda (Harris: "like Star Trek, which is dropped in the middle of Africa"), Harris shared that "Black Panther" franchise director and EP Ryan Coogler gave the writers a pretty large sandbox to creatively play in. "Ryan [Coogler] really just let us go hog wild. He was very inspirational. He really zeroed in on the Sea People of the Bronze Age. It's a very contested historical point in history, this thing where these people kind of raided everybody. The premises was, 'What if they were led by Wakandans? What kind of disruptive force would they be in this era?'" Harris added.

Marvel Animation's new action-adventure series, Eyes of Wakanda, follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zaraze, and this is their story. The voice cast includes Winnie Harlow (America's Next Top Model) as Noni and Cress Williams (Black Lightning) as the Lion. They're joined by Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, Jona Xiao, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Gary Anthony Williams, and Zeke Alton. In addition, Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog) and Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon) have joined the cast.

The animated series is directed by Todd Harris and executive-produced by Ryan Coogler. The show is also executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Proximity Media's Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and Kalia King.

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