WandaVision : Disney's First MCU TV Show - What to Expect and Theories
Disney+ launched November 12th 2019, and has exploded across the world and now has over 60 million subscribers world wide. With the launch of Disney+ the streaming platform put out "The Mandalorian" as the flagship tv show for the service. "The Mandalorian" was a gigantic hit success but has really been the only smash hit show from the streaming service, but that might soon change. One thing in common with The Mandalorian is that WandaVision will supposedly have a Disney Gallery behind the scenes show about it as well.
"WandaVision" still has a secret/vague release date on "winter 2020"and is going to be the MCU's first Kevin Feige produced tv show that is directly tied into the MCU. Fans like myself that adored the Marvel Netflix shows and ABC's Agents of Shield / Agent Carter have been bummed for years at their very loose adjacency to the mainline MCU cannon. Somethings on the show referenced the movies or even had side characters do quick cameos but they never had impact on the movies. Agents of Shield even had lead ins to multiple MCU movies including Captain America Winter Soldier and even Avengers Age of Ultron, but neither movie ever referenced the show.
All of that is going to change with WandaVision. Kevin Feige and crew have promised every Disney+ Marvel tv show will have budgets similar to the movies and will be the direct connecting pieces to each movie going forward.
So here is a quick run down of what you need to remember from previous movies going into the show, what we think the show is actually about, and what implications it might have going forward!
***SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL PAST MCU FILMS AND MAYBE FUTURE ONES***
The last time we saw Wanda Maximoff was the same place we saw a majority of our heroes, at Tony Stark's funeral in Avengers Endgame. Specifically her and Hawkeye's riverside chat where Clint says he "wishes there was a way that I could let her (Black Widow) know that we won" to which Wanda responds "She knows.. they both do" to which she is referencing Vision who was killed by Thanos in Avengers Infinity War.
The show seems to plan to play out showing episodes reflecting old tv sitcoms (rumored to even have a live studio audience for certain episodes) throughout the decades, such as Bewitched, I Love Lucy, Rosanne, Full House, etc. and each episode could play out with different tropes from each decades of television. Quick side note, I am embarrassed how long it took me to realize that the show is called WandaVision because it is flipping through tv shows / tropes like you would on a TeleVISION. So Wanda warping reality could be her trying to communicate (tele) with Vision.
Here is some potentially important comic info about our favorite Scarlett Witch. She and her brother Quicksilver are technically a mutants but the MCU avoided this for the most part. Wanda Maximoff is probably most well known for her hex powers being able to alter reality, and she has done so a few times on a global scale such as wiping most mutants from existence, after experiencing a big personal loss that makes her go crazy...and well...
Okay so here is the really weird backstory that is either a giant spoiler for the show or they will not use this at all, Wanda's Hex magic powers were gifted to her as a baby from a demon/god of chaos called Chthon. Chthon granted her these powers to one day use her as a vessel to one day summon it to earth. This could be in the show or they could just ignore this weird story.
Back to her reality warping powers and her loss. After losing her brother in Age of Ultron Wanda joins the Avengers full time and ends up forming a romantic relationship with Vision, to the extent they both kind of run away from the others together at the beginning of Avengers Infinity War. They were each others world. Losing to Thanos and watching him rip the Mind Stone out of Vision's forehead cracked Wanda's psyche and is slowly starting to lose it.
I believe that in WandaVision it opens with Wanda unware that she is stuck in some sort of bubble reality that she has created with her mind in which Vision is still alive. Another side piece to the theory or just a different one entirely has to do with the idea that Wanda sells her soul to bring back the love of her life Vision and her powers are slowly destroying and breaking reality around her. This is why we see S.W.O.R.D. (Think new SHIELD) in the trailer and they appear to be trying to break into the bubble reality to stop Wanda.
The S.W.O.R.D. agent specifically involved that we see is none other than Monica Rambeau all grown up after we were introduced to her in Captain Marvel. Monica Rambeau is being played by Teyonah Parris (you might know her from "Dear White People" or "If Beale Street Could Talk"), we are not sure if she is going to have superpowers yet like she does in the comics (she was exposed to an energy disrupter device that gave her the ability to fly and manipulate energy waves). S.W.O.R.D. is seemingly also employing former Jane Foster intern Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) who assumingly continued to research space and alternate realities after her encounters with Thor in the first two Thor movies.
Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) the FBI agent that was in charge of watching Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp seems to have either gotten a new job at S.W.O.R.D. or the FBI is also investigating the reality bubble, either way I imagine he and Darcy Lewis will be there primarily for comedic relief.
The next new character that is in this show is played by an actress that is seemingly there just for comic relief but do not be fooled. Kathryn Hahn is playing the "nosey neighbor" named Agnes that will be played as the character that just barges in all the time. BUT, the theory goes that she is secretly Agatha Harkness a very powerful witch (hinted at being so old that she was one of the original witches at the Salem Witch Trails) who has previously mentored Wanda, but I believe she is secretly there to try to either get Wanda's soul for Mephisto (the devil of the marvel universe) or steal her hex powers.
This show is supposed to be rolling straight into Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness where presumably Wanda has completely snapped and broken their reality and Doctor Strange is trying to piece back together both her mind and all of reality. This is how we are going to get mutants and all of the Fox characters (all recast besides Deadpool probably) officially joining Disney and the MCU, plenty opportunities for amazing cameos but that is another whole blog to itself.
Well what do you think? Do you like this breakdown and theories? If so please share with your friends and on social media I will be doing a bunch more of these as Marvel and DC Movies and tv kickback off. If you want to chat more please hit me up on twitter!
Twitter- @HaroldLStokes
