The Lead Of Marvel's New Black Panther Series Isn't Who You Think
With Black Panther's (the late Chadwick Boseman) Marvel Cinematic Universe introduction in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," Wakanda became a major setting in the franchise. It takes center stage in both "Black Panther" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," serves as the location of the final battle in "Avengers: Infinity War," and gets plenty of shout-outs and smaller appearances throughout the MCU. Now, the hidden kingdom will take the spotlight again in animated form, though the focus won't be on the character — or characters — one would expect.
Titled "Eyes of Wakanda," the series doesn't center on T'Challa, his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), or even the Wakandan special forces group, the real-world-inspired Dora Milaje. Rather, the program will focus on the War Dogs: the Wakandan intelligence group that travels the world in secret to gather information for the nation's benefit. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Marvel head of animation Brad Winderbaum gave the show high praise. "It is some of the best animation we've ever done. Todd Harris is the creator of that one. That's just such a cool show," he said, noting that the series will tell the history of Wakanda through the War Dogs' eyes.
Considering what we know currently about the MCU's War Dogs, there's potential for some fascinating storytelling in "Eyes of Wakanda."
Eyes of Wakanda has some intriguing narrative potential
Though they don't take prominence in the MCU, the War Dogs are very much established in the franchise. The faction is introduced in the prologue of "Black Panther," where it's revealed that Zuri (Denzel Whitaker) and Prince N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) — the brother of King T'Chaka (Atandwa Kani) and father of N'Jadaka, aka Erik Killmonger (Seth Carr) — were both in the War Dogs back in the 1990s. Sadly, to protect Wakanda's existence and maintain its secrecy, N'Jobu is killed by his brother for revealing its existence to one of the MCU's most underrated characters, the arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), and attempting to arm those of African descent with its weaponry in the name of revolution.
Through "Eyes of Wakanda," perhaps viewers will get to spend a little more time with N'Jobu and Zuri as they traverse the world as secret Wakandan agents. In doing so, MCU fans could witness the former's transformation from a prince and Wakandan agent into a father disillusioned with his home country and seeking to help those oppressed across the world. Of course, given Brad Winderbaum's description of the show being a Wakandan history lesson, it would make sense for viewers to also see the War Dogs' activities before, during, and after T'Chaka and T'Challa's reigns.
At the time of this writing, "Eyes of Wakanda" lacks a release date. But regardless of when it arrives, it stands to reason it'll prove worth the wait.