During a special screening for season 2 of Marvel's What If...?, Marvel Studios shocked many fans by revealing the existence of a Black Panther animated spinoff series dubbed Eyes of Wakanda.
However, now that the series' existence has been confirmed, more and more facts are slowly slipping out.
Recently, geek screenwriter Marc Bernardin stated that he had first began working on the series back when the COVID-19 pandemic kept everyone locked inside. Now, Echo executive producer Brad Winderbaum has revealed even more details about who suggested the premise first. Surprisingly, it wasn't director Ryan Coogler.
Winderbaum explained to Comicbook, "It's a show we're producing in partnership with Proximity Media, with Ryan Coogler as one of our executive producers. The show was brought to us by Todd Harris, who was a longtime storyboard artist at the company, just like Bryan Andrews was, who is the director of What If...?"
"He pitched the show to Ryan and he pitched the show to Kevin and I, and we were like, 'Let's do it.' I don't want to say too much about it, only that people do not see it coming."
Harris' storyboard credits include Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame and several other Marvel titles.
The official synopsis for Eyes of Wakanda reads, "Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story."
The title suggests that the show will focus more on the War Dogs, Wakanda's group of clandestine agents. In the comics, this group is also known as the Hatut Zeraze.
This group functions as Wakanda's central intelligence agency, entrusted with gathering intelligence worldwide in order to protect the kingdom. Surely, tracking down and retrieving any vibranium artifacts that exist outside of Wakanda's borders would fall under their purview.
You might remember that when we first encountered Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia in Black Panther, she was on an undercover operation as a War Dog. Similarly, flashbacks revealed that Zuri, played by Forest Whitaker, was a War Dog in his earlier days, ordered to spy on King T' Chaka's younger brother, N'Jobu, played by Sterling Brown.
Additionally, onsite reports from the What If...? screening event all confirm that Eyes of Wakanda features a "hyperstylized" and distinctly different animation aesthetic that looks very different from how What If...? is rendered.
Stay tuned for future updates on the Black Panther spinoff as we continue our coverage and look to receive an official release date from Marvel.