Marvel Studios’ Next Disney+ Series Gets Surprise Early Release

Marvel Studios announced a surprise early release for its next Disney+ streaming series. The Ryan Coogler-produced Eyes of Wakanda is set to take audiences back into the world of Marvel's Black Panther hero, telling a four-part anthology story of various Wakandan warriors from throughout history. The new animated series from the Sinners director was originally set to close out the summer for the franchise, coming to Disney+ on August 27. 

However, Marvel Studios has officially changed that release timing. It is unclear why Kevin Feige and the rest of the MCU brass made this move, but it likely concerns the studio's remaining 2025 schedule and what else could be released around it (like the upcoming DCU series Peacemaker). 

According to Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Studios has moved up Eyes of Wakanda's release date from Wednesday, August 27 to Friday, August 1.

This surprise early release will likely come as a shock to many Marvel fans, as the series had been locked in for a late August release for months. However, that no longer looks to be the case.

The Black Panther spin-off series from Marvel Studios storyboard artist Todd Harris was initially planned for a late 2024 release, but was pushed to 2025. Previously, the series was planned for August 5, before being moved to August 27, but now it has been moved back up to August 1.

Harris told Entertainment Weekly that the journey to release has been full of "highs and lows," but he is excited to get the series out to the fans finally:

"The highs and lows [of anticipation], when it's coming out, when we completed it, public perception, when we can talk about all those kinds of things.... There's been so many ups and downs in the waves of those that I've just become numb to it."

Eyes of Wakanda is a four-part animated series set in the world of Marvel's Black Panther hero. The new series follows Wakandan warriors throughout history as they seek to recover Vibranium artifacts stolen from the secretive African nation. 

The show, starring Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, and Patricia Belcher, comes from former Marvel storyboard artist Todd Harris (Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and executive producer Ryan Coogler. All four episodes of Eyes of Wakanda come to Disney+ on Friday, August 1.

Why Was Eyes of Wakanda Moved Again?

It has been confusing to watch what Marvel Studios is doing with Eyes of Wakanda's incoming release. The series was first slated for August 5 this year, then moved back to August 27, and now it is back up at August 1. It feels as though Marvel does not know what to do with the series and is just jerking it around. 

With just over a week before this August 1 date, it feels as though Eyes of Wakanda will finally be sticking with this date, but it does not make the journey to get here any less confusing. 

Fans will likely start to wonder, with this new date locked in, why this last move was made to get the series out in early August. It is not as though Marvel, Star Wars, or one of Disney's other major brands has a show that Eyes of Wakanda would brush up against with an August 27 release. 

The next most imminent major Disney+ releases after Eyes of Wakanda are LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past in September and Marvel Zombies in October. 

Some have speculated this move may not have anything to do with a show under the Disney umbrella. DC Studios, which just debuted Superman in theaters, has its own superhero TV show, Peacemaker Season 2, coming weekly starting on August 21. 

Perhaps, this move was to get out of the way of the John Cena-led show.