Honey, WandaVision is home! Marvel's half-sitcom, half-superhero epic is coming to Disney Plus after the start of the new year. WandaVision's release date was recently announced — though it's a little later than we were expecting. Plus, a recent report from Entertainment Weekly delivered a bunch of juicy details about what head writer Jac Schaeffer calls "a love letter to the golden age of television."
The nine-episode series stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as their Avengers characters Wanda Maximoff (aka Scarlet Witch) and Vision. She's a very powerful telekinetic/telepath; he's an android/AI hybrid. These two crazy kids somehow managed to fall in love in the midst of strife and destruction.
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Their romance came to a sad end with Vision's death in Avengers: Infinity War, but this is the MCU — time is a flat circle. Somehow, Vision is part of this wacky reimagining of sitcoms, possibly thanks to Wanda's abilities.
Here’s everything we know about WandaVision, including its release date, cast, plot, and more.
WandaVision release date
WandaVision's release date is January 15, 2021. Disney Plus announced the news on Nov. 12 with an announcement video:
A new era arrives. Marvel Studios’ #WandaVision, an Original Series, is streaming Jan. 15 on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/5pBd438tCiNovember 12, 2020
WandaVision trailer
The Wandavision trailer, which debuted on Sept. 20, shows off how the series will creepily and eerily blend old school television tropes and technicolor aesthetics with the MCU antics we're all fond of.
WandaVision cast
WandaVision’s two leads are Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision (thus the title … WandaVision). Wanda is an Avenger with formidable powers of telekinesis and telepathy, while Vision is a hybrid of the AI J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron and the Mind Stone.
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Both characters have appeared in several MCU and they began to connect on a personal level in Captain America: Civil War. But when they joined opposing sides, they started meeting in secret to continue a romantic relationship, as shown in Avengers: Infinity War. Their romance came to a tragic end when Thanos killed Vision to get the Mind Stone in Avengers: Infinity War.
Also on board WandaVision is Teyonah Parris as an adult Monica Rambeau, daughter of Maria Rambeau, who is the best friend of Carol Danvers. Monica was last seen as a young girl in Captain Marvel (played by Akira Akbar).
The rest of the cast (that we know of) includes Kat Dennings, as political science major Darcy Lewis, last seen in Thor and Thor: The Dark World; Randall Park as FBI agent Jimmy Woo, last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp; and MCU newcomer Kathryn Hahn as a “nosy neighbor.”
WandaVision poster
The first poster-sized graphic for WandaVision doubles down on how the lines between the retro and modern will blur in the new series:
#WandaVision, an Original Series from Marvel Studios, is coming soon to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/GtlzbAaKUXSeptember 21, 2020
WandaVision plot
Not much is known about the plot of WandaVision, but we know it will delve into the relationship between Wanda and Vision and also explore Wanda’s powers.
Of course, the big question is: How is Vision around, since he died in Infinity War? Fans are speculating that the sitcom setting is a domestic fantasy that Wanda mentally conjures.
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According to EW's cover story, the show starts with the couple living in the idyllic town of Westview. “We find Wanda and Vision living a blissful suburban existence, trying to keep their powers under wraps,” Schaeffer explained. But the newlyweds start cycling through decades — and their corresponding TV tropes — and realize their white picket-fence life isn't as perfect as it seems.
Marvel boss Kevin Feige and Olsen have described the series as the MCU’s first sitcom, which was particularly weird for the actress. "It was insanity,” Olsen told EW. “There was something very meta for my own life because I would visit those tapings as a kid, where my sisters were working [on Full House].”
Bettany described the show to Collider as “so bonkers, quite frankly and really risky and really new and unlike anything [Marvel Studios has] ever done.”
Aside from Wanda and Vision, the show will feature some new characters. Kathryn Hahn co-stars as a nosy neighbor (and seen in the trailer wearing some very '80s-esque workout clothes).
Meanwhile, Teyonah Parris is playing the grown-up version of Monica Rambeau, last seen as a little girl in Captain Marvel. While it's unknown how Monica becomes involved with Wanda and Vision, leaked set photos have shown Monica (Parris) leaving an office marked with the logo for the organization S.W.O.R.D. That stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department and is basically the space version of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.W.O.R.D. was first hinted at in an end credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which showed that the “Nick Fury” and “Maria Hill” characters were actually Skrulls in disguise. The real Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) had asked the shapeshifters to take their place. Meanwhile, he appeared to be in space working on a new project.
S.W.O.R.D. would act as a bridge between what’s happening on Earth and what’s going on in outer space. And Nick Fury would once again be a gatekeeper who works with everyone from Spider-Man and Thor to the Eternals.
Feige has also hinted that WandaVision ties in directly to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Maybe this sitcom version of Wanda’s life is a wacky facet of the multiverse.
WandaVision set photos
Some Wandavision set photos have been leaked or shared.
An Atlanta filming Instagram posted images that seem to show some kind of S.W.O.R.D. contraption:
A photo posted by @atlanta_filming on Jan 24, 2020 at 12:46pm PST
The set photos of Parris and Wanda indicate that not all of WandaVision will take place in that ‘50s-era sitcom reality:
Elizabeth Olsen and Teyonah Parris were spotted on the set of their upcoming Marvel / Disney+ series #WandaVision today - see the photos! https://t.co/caG5YBT1ZtDecember 16, 2019
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Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.