Eyes of Wakanda is a new animation now streaming on Disney Plus, and I had the opportunity to speak with its composer, Hesham Nazih.
Unlike the blockbuster MCU movies, Eyes of Wakanda explores the origins of the fictional Wakanda nation and how the Black Panther came to be by telling tales across multiple generations.
Eyes of Wakanda was announced in December 2023, so the new Marvel series has been a long time coming, but now that it’s finally out in the wild, it must be a relief for all those involved.
“As a team, it’s been a very well-organised process, and after all these months of working with my colleagues and everybody else involved, it’s exciting to get here finally,” Hesham tells me. “Seeing our musicians put their hearts and souls into the project, it’s exciting to see. Now we get to share that process with the audience, and it's nice to lift that weight off our shoulders.”
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A well put-together soundtrack can be just as important an ingredient as anything else in a successful entertainment production, because it provides the soul and helps elevate or bring those emotions crashing down to earth.
“I enjoyed pop songs as a child, and music can have an impact on your heart like nothing else can. I know it’s cliché, but it’s kind of like when you see the woman of your dreams,” he explains with a smile. “Ever since I heard my first movie soundtrack, I fell in love with it. A soundtrack, whether it's a movie, TV series or video game, can influence all kinds of emotions. It’s magical.
“I grew up playing music all the time, and I’ve always known this is what I want to do. I want people to watch beautiful scenery on a big screen and experience this gush of sound, emotions and harmony, and melodies. A good soundtrack can take you back to any moment in your life, instantly. It’s like a memory, and that’s the magic of it,” says Hesham. “It becomes something personal to you.”
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Eyes of Wakanda takes place over four episodes, and each explores a different generation of the Black Panther. This in itself must bring a challenge of creating something different for each episode, but at the same time, something familiar.
“Each episode required a unique musical signature, like themes, texture, instrumentations, because each episode takes place in a different continent, in a different culture, and a different era,” says Hesham. “This was really exciting, because it brought me somewhere different musically, somewhere that I've never been.”
“It brought me to Asian, Greek and African music. I had to build a sense of unity between those four episodes. So I came up with a main theme for each one to suit its storyline. The music changed according to where we were, reflecting what's going on. Each episode required a totally different flavour.”
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Marvel fans may also be familiar with Hesham’s other work on Disney Plus, namely the 2022 live-action series, Moon Knight. This is a project that was close to his heart, with the series being set in Egypt, the nation that Hesham calls home.
“It felt like a dream. It was the first time I produced something for Marvel, and it's for a story inspired by Egyptian gods and mythology. It was incredible, and it was also important to those who live in Egypt because it was filmed here,” he explains.
“It made a real connection with our people; they felt related to the show. Its portrayal of Egypt is something we don't typically see in Hollywood, especially in Cairo. I also know that it was very important to Moon Knight’s director, Mohamed Diab, who is also from this country. It was a huge moment for many people.”
Looking from the outside in, I can only assume that composing a soundtrack for a live-action and animated production can be two very different prospects, as elaborated by Hesham.
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“It’s two different experiences. There’s a magical feeling when it comes to animation when you see everything come together in real-time, bit by bit, as you work towards its ending. When you see the final product, especially when it has such stunning visuals like Eyes of Wakanda with its colours and movement of textures, it’s incredible to see.”
“When dealing with a live action production, it’s a little different,” explains Hesham. “During production, if a character hits a rock, you might not hear a sound effect or hear an explosion until much later in production. When composing something for live-action, I always need to ask what’s going on and how music might transition. You’re always dealing with real people on set filming scenes, unlike animation. I don’t really have a favourite artistically, as long as it's enjoyable and exciting.”
It’s been a whirlwind few years for Hesham, and on reflection, I asked him what has given him the most joy in life over the past 12 months.
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“Waking up in the morning to see my four-year-old daughter, hearing her voice and playing with her dolls, and getting a kiss from my wife. It’s pure magic, it’s beautiful. Getting a positive phone call from a director, producer or a good friend. Playing music, seeing Mo Salah score a goal. There are so many things that I’m grateful for in life.”
Eyes of Wakanda and Moon Knight are both available to stream now on Disney Plus.
Topics: Anime, Comics, Disney, Features, Intergalactic, MCU, Marvel, TV And Film, Interview