Black Panther purists got some news that was both exciting but also slightly concerning earlier this December, as Marvel announced the existence of Eyes of Wakanda, an animated series set in the world of the Black Panther that we had no idea was coming.
That’s the exciting part. The concerning part was that this was the first update we’ve heard on the TV side of the Wakanda-verse since talk of a live-action spinoff of the movies went cold. Announced prior to the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we were told when the sequel came out that the film had stolen so much of director Ryan Coogler and his team’s time that the show had to be put on the back-burner. So when Eyes was announced, it seemed like the project had simply been switched to animation instead and the live-action series was dead.
Now, however, we have received cast-iron confirmation that the live-action show and Eyes are too entirely unrelated projects. During the latest episode of their Fatman Beyond podcast, co-hosts Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin talk about Eyes, at which point Bernardin drops the bombshell that he wrote two episodes of the Marvel Studios production.
After Smith explains that Bernardin has been sitting on this information for a long time, and even obliquely alluded to it in prior episodes, Bernardin opens up about what it was like working on the show:
“This was a pandemic gig. This was the reason I couldn’t come back for Masters [of the Universe, Smith’s Netflix series] season 2, because this swallowed my life for six months. But I can’t wait until you guys see it.”
Bernardin confirming that he worked on Eyes of Wakanda during the thick of the pandemic makes it abundantly clear that the animation is not an evolution of the live-action spinoff but was always a separate project from the beginning, one that’s been developing for several years already. Rest assured, then, that the other show — probably built around Danai Gurira’s Okoye — could still happen as part of Coogler’s ongoing TV deal with Marvel.
Eyes of Wakanda is coming to Disney Plus sometime in 2024.
