Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda is a Wakandan history lesson
Marvel Studios
“Eyes of Wakanda” is an anthology series about Wakanda’s attempts to retrieve stolen artifacts throughout history. The first episode, titled “Into the Lion’s Den,” starts out in Crete in 1260 B.C. and follows a disgraced former member of the Dora Milaje as they pursue the “Lion,” a man who defected from the Wakandan guard in order to run his own band of pirates, using stolen Wakandan technology to power his kingdom. The whole thing takes inspiration from the real-life hypothesized tribe known as the Sea Peoples, which terrorized Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean region in the Late Bronze Age. (The Sea Peoples also played a prominent role in the excellent second season of Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Primal.”)
The “Black Panther” spin-off is visually stunning and unlike anything else we’ve seen from Marvel Animation so far. Gone is the 2.5D look of “What If…?,” with Axis Animation creating a graphic 3D style full of 2D visual effects and exaggerated designs that make it feel like a comic book. Being animated, “Eyes of Wakanda” only further bolsters “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and his team’s efforts to infuse Wakanda with a sense of cultural specificity, from its attire and buildings all the way down to its residents’ body shapes and skin tones.
In terms of the story, “Eyes of Wakanda” manages to be self-contained even as it explores the long history of the fictional eponymous nation and expands on the prologue from Coogler’s first “Black Panther” movie, revealing in greater detail just how Wakandan society became so advanced. As “Into the Lion’s Den” director Todd Harris explained after the episode screening, “Eyes of Wakanda” is meant to explore how the tactics and the culture of Wakanda have evolved over time and the means by which the country has stayed preserved for as long as it has in the MCU.
As each episode moves to a new time period and focuses on different artifacts stolen from the country (but with a sense of connection between them, as they each explore the ramifications of the episodes before them), this feels like the perfect way to expand the Marvel universe. Sure, there will be some familiar MCU characters making appearances (as Harris confirmed we’ll see Iron First at one point, though not the version you might expect), but what makes this all the more appealing is that the show also functions as a history lesson about the MCU at large.
Eyes of Wakanda is doing the same thing Star Wars excels at
Marvel Studios
As Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) put it at the end of the original “Iron Man” movie when he showed up at Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) mansion, “You think you’re the only superhero in the world?” We’ve gotten glimpses of the MCU’s long history before, including flashbacks featuring the original Ant-Man and the Wasp. Still, we’ve never gotten something like “Eyes of Wakanda,” i.e. an expanded history lesson that shows how the MCU has evolved and changed over the centuries.
This is something the “Star Wars” franchise excels at — exploring different corners of its universe, expanding on certain time periods, and painting an overall more complete picture of its fictional setting. Even after so many MCU films and shows, including all those limited series that function specifically as world-building, the property is still strangely lacking in comparison.
That is what makes “Eyes of Wakanda” feel so special. It’s a show that seems to fulfill the promise of the MCU by recreating the experience of reading a comic book and following a single character, only to discover there’s a special one-shot exploring their past and ancestry. It helps that Wakanda is already the most fleshed-out place in the MCU, a country with a sense of history, tradition, and culture that viewers are eager to see more of (as opposed to, say, all those same-y alien planets we’ve barely had time to explore in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies).
“Eyes of Wakanda” will begin streaming on August 6, 2025, on Disney+.
by admin | Jun 11, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles
It’s summertime, and that often means there are plenty of family-friendly options at the theater. One of the fun flicks hitting the 2025 movie calendar is Elio, the newest animated film from Pixar. Early screenings have given some people a chance to see the movie before its release on June 20, and the first reactions are featuring some pretty strong opinions.
Pixar’s Elio will take moviegoers on a sci-fi space adventure. Our eye patch-sporting main character has an active imagination and is obsessed with aliens, but he gets more than he bargained for after being beamed up and is mistakenly thought to be Earth’s leader. Adventures ensue and, like all the best Pixar movies, this sounds like it has the potential to emotionally wreck audiences. According to Henry Raviolli, we’re in for an emotionally rich story about self-discovery. He writes on social media:
Justin Lawrence of Geekcentric also feels strongly about the coming-of-age tale, describing it as “weird” in the best way. Lawrence posts:
Joaquin Teodoro says this original story feels important, especially with so many sequels and remakes, writing:
According to Jonathan Sim, audience members young and old will fall in love with Elio, Glordon and all of the other characters in the upcoming Pixar flick. Sim says:
Voice actor Remy Edgerly is the voice Glordon, a toothy, wormlike alien who befriends Elio, and the above critic isn’t the only person singling out this character. Carla Renata posts:
Russ Milhelm of The Direct agrees that Glordon is a show-stealer but says audiences will enjoy the entire cast as Elio explores universal themes in this out-of-this-world adventure. Milhelm continues:
Michael J. Lee and others who caught an early screening of the movie are marveling at the animation as well as the emotional storytelling and, of course, some laughs along the way. This critic says:
Anthony Gagliardi of The Movie Podcast says audiences are in for a treat with this new film by Domee Shi, the writer/director of 2022’s Turning Red. In Gagliardi’s words:
It sounds like Elio hits all the beats we’ve come to expect from Pixar — great vocal performances, stunning animation and an emotional story that will connect with audience members of all ages. We’ll get even more details in the coming days as critics are allowed to expand on their first reactions ahead of Elio’s release to theaters on Friday, June 20.
by admin | Jun 11, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that a new “Wonder Woman” movie is being written right now. But fans shouldn’t expect to see Gal Gadot back as Diana, because while this is the third live-action “Wonder Woman” film, it is almost certainly going to be a reboot, not a sequel to “Wonder Woman 1984.” (Sorry, Connie Nielsen.)
The previous silver screen Wonder Woman movies were part of the now-dead DC Extended Universe. We’re about a month out from seeing if Gunn’s DC Universe Take Two can soar with “Superman.” So far, of the DC Trinity (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), we only have David Corenswet cast as Superman. But Gunn does have plans for the other two.
Batman (specifically, the Batman who cameoed in Gunn’s animated “Creature Commandos”) is set to star in “The Brave and the Bold.” Directed by Andy Muschietti, this film will see Bruce Wayne partnered with his son, Damian Wayne/Robin. How will this work with “The Batman Part II” starring Robert Pattinson due in 2027? TBD!
Until now, we didn’t know that DC Studios was going to make a “Wonder Woman” movie, but the hints were there. One of the earliest projects the studios announced was a TV series focusing on the origins of the Amazons — the all-women Greek tribe that Diana belongs to. One of the villains of “Creature Commandos” was the Amazon witch Circe (typically a foe of Diana), and Wonder Woman herself cameoed in a vision sequence.
With the “Wonder Woman” reboot, hopefully the mistakes of past films can be corrected. (None of the “Diana is the daughter of Zeus” nonsense this time, please.) Even better, Wonder Woman will no longer endure the indignity of having only been played on the silver screen by the actress Gal Gadot!
Which actress out there should take up Wonder Woman’s lasso next?
