Disney’s Upcoming Iwájú Animated Series Was Seriously Influenced By One Huge Marvel Franchise

Disney have released a trailer for a new show that has taken inspiration from one specific area of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the show isn’t set within the MCU, it’s difficult to ignore the strong similarities between the trailer’s imagery and an iconic corner of the Marvel franchise. Disney’s new animation explores a genre that it hasn’t used much outside the MCU of late, but it looks as if they haven’t lost their touch. In fact, the project looks to be one of the best of all 16 movies and TV shows arriving on Disney+ in February.

Disney have no shortage of original shows for their streaming service, with a huge number of new additions being introduced to Disney+ each year. However, most of the best TV shows on Disney+ tend to fall within either the Star Wars franchise or the MCU. The streaming service’s new project doesn’t align itself with another major franchise and would appear to be a standalone limited series rather than taking place in a larger universe. While the new Disney+ show may adhere to its own canon, it hasn’t stopped it from basing its ideas on a big Marvel property.

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Iwájú Was Clearly Influenced By Black Panther And Wakanda

Disney’s new trailer already looks very familiar

When watching the Iwájú trailer, it would be forgivable to think it’s an animated extension of Marvel’s Black Panther movies. Like Black Panther, Iwájú features many hallmarks of Afrofuturism and science-fiction generally. Both properties are set in a futuristic version of an African nation, and the advanced technology takes on a similar feel. While there are enough differences between Iwájú and Black Panther, it’s still easy to see Disney still used the Marvel movies as a jumping-off point.

Marvel’s Black Panther changed the MCU, especially the first movie. The films are some of the most successful in franchise history. Sadly, the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman between the two films led to the studio reworking its plan for the franchise’s future, meaning Letitia Wright’s Shuri stepped into the main role as the leader of Wakanda. As well as being a box office smash, Black Panther‘s two movies have also resulted in the MCU’s only Oscar wins, so it’s no surprise Disney are repurposing the framework for their new animated show.

How Iwájú Sets Itself Apart From Black Panther

Iwájú and Black Panther are not identical

Iwájú has made some notable changes to separate itself from Black Panther. Aside from Iwájú being animated, the new Disney show is actually set in the future. Black Panther‘s aesthetic may make it seem like it’s not set in the present, but this is just to make it clear how advanced the nation of Wakanda is compared to the rest of the MCU’s countries. In addition, Iwájú seems to be taking a more whimsical approach by having an animal as one of the show’s main characters. Iwájú‘s human protagonists are also much younger than the Black Panther heroes.

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Another big difference between Iwájú and Black Panther is that the story’s villains stem from different places. In Black Panther, the bad guys tend to come from outside Wakanda, whereas the threats in Iwájú appear to be from within the city of Lagos. So, although Iwájú does bear a striking resemblance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Black Panther movies at first glance, Disney have made sure their new project is sufficiently unique.