WandaVision: Everything we know so far about Marvel’s Disney Plus series
One of many Marvel limited TV series coming to Disney Plus over the next few years is WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as the titular star-crossed superhero lovers.
Much is being kept under wraps about Marvel’s WandaVision – particularly how the heck Vision is back after his death in Avengers: Infinity War – but we have been told to expect a wild ride into the weirder edges of the Marvel universe.
Here’s everything we currently know about WandaVision, which will be exclusively released on Disney Plus.
Concept Art
To start off with, let’s get a visual flavor for the series thanks to this concept art which offers our first and, to date, only look at WandaVision.
Following its circulation at D23 in August, Andy Park, Marvel’s head of Visual Development, officially shared the artwork on social media. Take a glance at it below:
There are several points of interest in the image. First, it confirms Scarlet Witch and Vision will be living in some kind of strange 1950s sitcom existence. However, signs point to the real world bleeding in. Note the eerie red glow of the TV and, more importantly, the shadows on the walls behind them. Vision’s echoes his android form while Wanda’s heavily resembles her classic comic book costume, which we’ve never seen in the MCU before!
The sitcom feel
The sitcom feel from the concept art has been confirmed by the WV cast and crew. Director Matt Shakman told Extra Butter, in an interview with writer Jac Schaeffer, that the show will be a unique concoction we haven’t had before in the Marvel franchise.
"“We can’t say much. It’s all pretty much on lockdown at this moment, but all we can say really is it’s a blend of classic sitcom and huge, epic Marvel action.”"
Paul Bettany said something similar to Entertainment Weekly, calling WV “a mash-up between American sitcoms throughout the decades and [a] Marvel film with these characters.”
He teased that it begins as strange as can be before morphing into something that MCU lovers will recognize.
"“That’s where it starts, and then it sort of snowballs into an epic Marvel movie that you’ve grown to know or love.”"
Comic book influences
Elizabeth Olsen confirmed back in April that WandaVision wouldn’t be based on just one comic book, but it would draw inspiration from a range of source material.
From what we know so far, fans will be able to work out a couple of apparent influences on the series. The basic premise of Wanda creating a fake happy reality for herself and Vision comes from House of M, though that’s also a much bigger storyline involving the near-extinction of mutant kind. Secondly, the image of Vision trying to live a normal life in the suburbs recalls Tom Taylor’s Vision run.
Scarlet Witch origins
Wanda fans will know that despite the character appearing in four movies to date, her superhero name has never actually been uttered on screen. However, this is about to change in WandaVision as Olsen has confirmed she’ll not only start going by the alias but that there will also be a story surrounding how she comes by the nickname.
Here’s what the star said at San Diego Comic-Con, as reported by /Film’s Peter Sciretta:
Familiar faces
Obviously we know that Olsen and Bettany will be back for WandaVision, but the show’s supporting cast features a few familiar faces from other corners of the MCU that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to show up here.
First up, Kat Dennings hasn’t been seen in the franchise since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, but she’ll return as Darcy Lewis once again in WV. Exactly how Jane Foster’s former intern happens to get caught up in Wanda and the android’s world is a mystery.
Secondly, Randall Park made his MCU debut just last summer in Ant-Man and the Wasp and he’ll be back as FBI agent Jimmy Woo in the Disney Plus series. When we last saw him, he was overseeing Scott Lang’s house arrest so maybe he’ll be on the tail of these other superheroes in this series.
New additions
It’s not just returning faces in WandaVision, though, as the show will add a couple of intriguing new cast members into the mix as well.
This includes a character we’ve seen before who will return with a new actor. Monica Rambeau first appeared in Captain Marvel as a child, played by Akira Akbar. In WV, set about 20 years later, Monica will be all grown up and portrayed by Teyonah Parris. No news yet on if she’ll take up her comic book mantle of Photon/Spectrum.
An entirely new character will be played by Katherine Hahn, described as a nosy neighbour who lives next door to Wanda and Vis, according to Marvel. Given that her identity has yet to be revealed, there’s a good bet there’s more to Hahn’s role than meets the eye.
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Doctor Strange ties
As you can tell from the cast, WandaVision is closely connected to the wider world of the MCU. The biggest way it’ll be part of the overarching story, though, is through its connection to the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel.
It was confirmed at Comic-Con that, shortly after starring in the Disney Plus series, Olsen will return as Scarlet Witch alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was also clarified that WV will directly lead into the events of DS2.
Fans are theorizing that the fake reality WandaVision appears to be set in could link into the Strange sequel’s exploration of a multiverse full of different realities.
Production
If you want to know more about the show, sneaks peeks or set pics might come our way soon as shooting is expected to begin before the year is out.
Principal photography was due to kick off this September, but filming ended up being delayed by a couple of months. The new scheduled start date is Nov. 4, with work on the show expected to last until March 13. This comes from scooper Charles Murphy, who got hold of a call sheet for the production, which is going under the codename “Big Red,” according to Comicbook.com.
Release date
Wandavision is coming to Disney Plus on Jan. 15, 2021. New episodes will air weekly.