[♪ dramatic chanting fanfare playing]
[♪ opening theme song playing]
[people yell]
[explosion]
[engine roaring]
[explosions]
[♪ serene music playing]
[seagulls squawking]
[guardian] There is something... There,
beyond the fog. Look!
Ships? What colors do they fly?
Uh...
[water splashing rhythmically]
[♪ daunting music playing]
-[goat bleating] -[chickens clucking]
[horn blows]
Raiders! From the sea!
-[people exclaim] -We-We must run! Run!
[man] Hide! Are you thick?
[♪ daunting music playing]
[gasps]
-[grunts] -[people exclaim]
[♪ daunting music continues]
[people clamoring]
[yells]
To the hills, all of you!
[roars]
To the caves if you can!
-Pirate dogs! Your Lion will find... -[groans]
...no bounty here. [grunts]
Only blood and sand!
[♪ suspenseful music plays]
You!
[yells]
Let me.
No.
Death to the false god!
Huh?
-[explosion] -[yelps]
[♪ daunting music playing]
[gasps]
[woman whimpering]
[yelps, gasps]
Welcome to The Lion's kingdom.
You are now people of the sea,
and you will accept this gift from his bounty.
Please, eat your fill.
It's a trick! Don't give yourselves to them!
There's no going back!
Those who embrace this new life under his divine hand will rise.
Those who resist will be... convinced.
[grunts]
[chuckles]
-Huh? -[door shuts]
-[iron searing] -[yelps]
[muffled screaming]
[captive woman shuddering]
-You. -[man, muffled] Please!
-[guard] Up. -No, please! Please!
When you have suffered as you have, benevolence can look like bondage.
But we assure you, to be touched by The Lion's grace
is to know true freedom.
-Please! [groans] -[man groans]
You have been welcomed into The Lion's flock.
You will bear his mark for the rest of your life.
Where is he, this master you serve?
He is your liege now, and his new world is your only home.
No one is my master.
And I already have a home.
[♪ upbeat percussive music playing]
[Akeya] Noni, of the Merchant Tribe,
former Dora Milaje,
present yourself.
I no longer take my orders from you, Akeya.
Or have you forgotten you expelled me?
In here, you will address this body with respect.
My apologies, Akeya, oh, great leader of the Dora Milaje.
May I ask, why have I been invited to grace your presence?
This is not a time for games.
The kingdom has need of you.
One of our highest-ranking officials has vanished.
Vanished? From... Wakanda?
[Akeya] Noni!
His name is Nkati.
Once a respected captain of the Royal Guard.
An exceptional warrior, second only to the King,
but restless, ambitious.
The other guards refer to him as The Lion.
If he has such a reputation, why have I never heard of him?
Secrecy has always been essential to Wakanda's security.
You did not know because you did not need to.
Then what is it you need me to know now?
Fleeing the kingdom was betrayal enough,
but this renegade also took dozens of dangerous items with him.
Armed with this kind of technology in the outside world,
he could fashion an arsenal of advanced weaponry.
And make himself... a king.
With a kingdom powerful enough to pose a threat to Wakanda.
Somebody needs to stop him.
Yes. We agree.
And you think that person is me?
Every operative we've sent out thus far was trained by The Lion himself.
None has returned, but...
thanks in no small part to your expulsion, he does not know you
and will never see you coming.
[laughs] You really must be desperate.
Entrusting this mission to a failed Dora.
You never failed, Noni.
You were expelled for refusing to work with the group,
walking your own path instead of the one set out for you.
Bring The Lion and his stolen cache home,
and you will be the one welcomed back as a Dora Milaje, once more.
You know he will not come quietly.
If it were an easy task, I would not be sending you.
This threat must be eliminated.
But remember, Noni, you must stay on mission,
accept no distraction.
Be a ghost.
-[bones crack] -[grunting]
[guard screaming]
[chuckles] Those two really enjoy their work.
Where is The Lion?
Your loyalty is sorely misplaced.
Some accept his love freely,
but those who resist must wear that shame forever, as I do.
But when you have clothes on your back
and a full belly every day, you will learn to love him, too.
[captives exclaim]
[captives murmuring]
-[metal thuds] -[Noni] Quiet.
Take these and wait for an opportunity.
You can save yourselves from this place.
There is always another path.
[♪ hopeful music playing]
[lion growls]
[blows horn]
[workers grunting]
[♪ dramatic choral music playing]
Right.
[door opens]
[footsteps approaching]
[clears throat] For the pride of The Lion.
For the pride of The Lion?
[laughter and chatter]
-[female captives whimpering] -[guard] Load it, load it.
[woman] Welcome, my precious jewels.
Here, you will be fed.
Re-educated. Groomed.
You will learn The Lion's poetry and music.
[sobs]
And in return, he asks only for you to smile.
So?
-Smile. -[sobbing stops]
No! Please, I want to go home!
[Shieldmaiden] Silly little girl.
We resist that which we do not understand.
[woman grunts, cries]
It is an instinct that must be removed...
for your own good.
-[smacks] -[woman yelps]
I will still give you one more chance
-to accept this honor. -[whimpering]
But it will be the last choice you will ever be offered.
[both grunting]
Imposter!
The only imposter here is you.
Pretending to re-educate these women as you lead them into a life of slavery.
They will all be grateful, in the end, to know their divine purpose.
[bell dinging]
[both grunt]
[all screaming]
[grunts]
[gasps]
Soldiers!
-[grunts] -[soldiers yell]
[combat shouts and grunts in distance]
[♪ dramatic music playing]
[all grunting]
[Samoan warrior] Create a perimeter... and close in!
Do not lose sight of her. [grunts]
[both grunting]
[Samoan warrior yells]
[both grunting]
Do you even know who you are fighting for?
He is no god!
Are you willing to die for an imposter?
[both grunting]
[guard] No, no, no, no, no!
[Shieldmaiden laughing maniacally]
[all grunting]
If you kneel now, he may still allow you to serve.
I have never been good at following orders.
[both grunting]
[Shieldmaiden yells]
[Samoan warrior] Blasphemer! [grunts]
[screams]
[♪ suspenseful music playing]
[mechanical whirring]
[grunting]
[grunts, chokes]
[Blademaster growls]
[guards yelling]
[mechanical whirring]
Nowhere left to run.
[both grunt]
-[gasps] -[♪ ominous music plays]
[gasping]
[guard 1] Check the rails.
[guard 2] Check the hull.
You must not get distracted, Noni.
Be a ghost, Noni.
[grunts]
[panting]
I'm going to die here, aren't I?
Of course, his chamber would be at the top.
[metal clanking]
[Swordsman grunts]
[Noni gasps, grunts]
-[grunts] -[Swordsman screams]
-[Noni grunts] -[Swordsman groans]
[Noni scoffs] Show-off.
[grunts, chokes]
[The Lion] Impressive.
Are you coming up or not?
You are not the first to... come for me,
but you are the first Akeya has sent that I did not train myself.
And yet somehow you are... the only one that has made it this far.
Nkati of the Merchant Tribe, Captain of the Royal Guard.
That is not my name!
I am The Lion.
You can call yourself whatever you want, but you are coming back with me.
[laughs] No, no, no, no.
I will not be returning to Wakanda. I am needed here,
in the free world.
There is nothing free about your world.
First time beyond our borders?
I... still remember how differently the air tasted.
When you deserted Wakanda?
No. When Wakanda sent me... here.
[The Lion chuckles]
Akeya did not tell you, did she?
Wakanda is a kingdom of many secrets.
Secrets they do not believe you are worthy of.
But if you think you are...
come, walk with me.
[♪ suspenseful music playing]
You are not like the others I have trained.
You are... unpredictable.
Free.
I serve the kingdom.
That is all that should concern you.
[The Lion] I was once like you,
a dog begging for scraps of validation.
And like you, they preyed on it.
So, they could send me out into the world.
To protect their power.
In ancient times, agents like me were known as the Hatut Zeraze,
but now they call us War Dogs.
A secret network of spies sent out across the world
to do the missions that Wakanda does not want known.
But there is a risk when they send people like you and me out into the world.
And what is that?
We see it for what it is.
They sent me here to bring you in.
They sent you here to die like the others.
So, why follow the path they've set out for you,
when you could make your own here, as they all have?
I freed these people from their suffering...
and they worship at my feet.
Not by compulsion, but inspiration.
I can free you, too.
If freedom is what you offer, why are there so many chains?
Ah, the chained sacrifice today to build the world of tomorrow.
A world their descendants will walk freely in.
United under one banner.
[Noni] It is impressive.
So, you see?
Your delusion? Yes.
That is Wakanda talking.
You are not one of them.
You are meant to roam free. Like me!
I am not like you.
And if you will not return with me willingly,
I will bring you back in a coffin.
-[yells] -[Noni grunting]
[panting]
[The Lion yells]
[both grunting]
[both strain]
[grunts]
[The Lion roars]
[both grunting]
[armband clatters]
-[The Lion yelling] -[Noni grunting]
[weapon crackling]
[weapon whirring]
[grunting]
[The Lion groans]
[roars, grunts]
[cries out]
[grunting]
-[The Lion screams] -[electricity crackling]
[explosion]
[debris clinking]
[♪ ominous music plays]
[breathes heavily]
[sighs] I knew they would send someone,
and I knew no matter what,
I would never go back in that cage.
Neither of us will, little Dog of War.
-[mechanical whirring] -What have you done?
We'll both be forgotten,
but at least I...
will have lived... free.
[yelps]
[explosion]
[hull groaning]
[♪ solemn music playing]
[panting]
It is over, Noni.
I did not bring The Lion home.
I did not recover everything he stole. I failed.
The mission was to eliminate the threat against Wakanda.
You did just that.
You have fulfilled your side of the bargain.
Now, I will fulfill mine.
[Dora Milaje] Hah!
Noni, of the Merchant Tribe,
I offer you a return to your former rank
as a Dora Milaje of Wakanda.
[Dora Milaje] Hah!
I am honored, but you were right about me.
I have never been able to walk a path set for me.
If I wish to serve Wakanda, it will not be as a Dora Milaje.
For generations, the War Dogs have operated in secret.
Such a sacrifice cannot be asked of anyone.
It can only be volunteered.
My mission. It was a test?
I always sensed this would be the path for you.
I just needed you to find it for yourself.
As long as our technology is out in the world,
the threat to Wakanda remains.
Let me retrieve what has been stolen from us for as long as it takes.
I am ready, Akeya, for anything.
Good.
Then welcome to the War Dogs.
[♪ dramatic music playing]
[♪ closing theme song playing]