Earlier this week, Disney released their first official trailer for the upcomingWandavision miniseries.
The limited series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be released later this year. It is looking likely that this will be the first of the MCU Disney+ spin-offs to come out, as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has been delayed until next year.
Wandavision takes place after Avengers: Endgame and will focus on the two eponymous Marvel heroes. Elizabeth Olson returns as Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany will reprise his role as Vision. From the trailer, it appears that the show is a sitcom about Wanda and Vision living mostly ordinary lives in a dated suburban setting – or at least, things start off that way.
The trailer begins in black and white, as though you are watching on an old TV from decades ago. This effect lasts until Vision appears to forget something – there is a pause, and the heroes’ guest bangs the table repeatedly waiting for the answer to his question. As the screen widens to the normal ratio, this is the first tell that something is wrong. Very wrong. The rest of the trailer is rather chaotic. The scene quickly switches into colour and there are nods to their comic book costumes. There is even a shot of Wanda and Vision nursing babies, which will need some sort of explanation as Vision is an android.
The eagle-eyed viewers among us will remember that Vision is dead in the MCU. This fact alone already implies that the events of this show may not be completely real. Is this sitcom all a dream in Wanda’s mind, or is it something far more sinister? Scarlet Witch has warped reality with her abilities before in the comics but there may not be as simple an explanation as this for WandaVision. Fans will find out the true answer before the end of 2020, however, there is no set release date as of yet.
Joining the titular characters are a couple of side characters from previous MCU films. Kat Dennings will appear again as Jane Foster’s assistant Darcy Lewis from the first two Thor films. Randall Park will also return to the MCU as Agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp. In addition, as we see in the trailer, Teyonah Parris is starring for the first time as Monica Rambeau. Monica was played by Akira Akbar when she was introduced in Captain Marvel as the daughter of Maria (Lashana Lynch). In the comics, Monica goes onto become a hero who once takes on the title of Captain Marvel.
Matt Shakman, who has previously directed episodes of The Boys, Fargo, and Game of Thrones, has directed all six episodes of this upcoming limited series.
With a trailer as chaotic and confusing as this, no one can be certain of what to expect. One thing is for certain however, WandaVision looks like it will be a no-holds barred show.
Words by Ayomikun Adekaiyero