MCU’s ‘Eyes of Wakanda’ Gets Earlier Release Date, Drops on Disney+ Sooner Than Planned

Marvel fans won’t have to wait as long as expected to dive into Wakanda’s animated past. The upcoming Disney+ series Eyes of Wakanda is now set to premiere earlier than planned.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the show will start streaming on Friday, August 1, instead of the original August 27 date. All four episodes will be available at once.

Eyes of Wakanda is an animated anthology series created by Todd Harris. It takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is considered the 15th TV series in the MCU.

Unlike some other Marvel animated shows, this one is tied directly into the franchise’s main timeline, also known as the “Sacred Timeline.” Harris not only created the show but also served as showrunner and director.

The series follows the Hatut Zaraze, a group of elite Wakandan warriors, as they take on dangerous missions through different moments in history. Each episode tells a new story with a different setting and cast of characters. It’s designed to explore more of Wakanda’s rich world and background.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Harris explained what he wanted to do with the show. “My goal for the whole show was to do the thing that a movie has trouble doing, which is making the world bigger,” he said. “It is a nation with multiple zip codes.”

He added that he wanted to expand on what filmmaker Ryan Coogler had already built in the Black Panther films. “It was mostly just expanding the backdrop of the world that [Ryan Coogler] was able to establish, with just a little bit more time and a few more opportunities at the watering hole. These things have been around for this long, really spreading out the mythology of Wakanda.”

The animation is done by Axis Animation and uses a hand-painted style. The look of the series is inspired by African-American artist Ernie Barnes and illustrator Dean Cornwell, giving it a very unique visual identity.

The voice cast includes Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, and Anika Noni Rose, among others. In the first episode, Harlow voices Noni, a former Dora Milaje warrior now trying to join the Hatut Zaraze. Harris described her as “a James Bond version of a Dora who just doesn’t tow the company line.”

The series also brings in some unexpected Marvel characters. One of them is Iron Fist, though not necessarily the version fans know from earlier shows. Harris didn’t reveal much, but he teased that they were exploring lesser-known corners of the Marvel universe. “We went to the weird corners in the Marvel universe to see what we can get away with,” he said.

The show has been in the works for a while. Back in 2021, Disney signed a deal with Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media. By 2023, the Wakanda animated series was in development, and it was officially titled Eyes of Wakanda in December of that year. Harris’s involvement was confirmed in early 2024.

With its early release date, strong connection to the MCU, and a bold new approach to storytelling, Eyes of Wakanda is set to bring fans a fresh and exciting look at one of Marvel’s most beloved worlds.

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