Disney+ has today announced that their MCU set of tv dramas will kick off in January 2021 with ‘WandaVision‘ leading the pack on the streaming service.
The series sees Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their MCU roles, and is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision – two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems…
Whilst we don’t know the exact plot of the series, we do know it is set after the events of the Infinity Saga… which is odd, given the, erm, “state”… in which Vision was left at the end… The new Disney+ series seems to be a way of unleashing Wanda’s full potential, which was dramatically underused on the big screen. In the comics, Scarlet Witch is much more powerful than we’ve seen so far in the MCU, with the ability to bend reality to her will. It looks like this series will explore that side of her, so it would seem we’re in for something very strange and different! According to Marvel TV boss Kevin Feige, the show will have “repercussions for the entire future of Phase 4”, and Scarlet Witch will have a major impact on the upcoming film ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’.
Alongside Wanda and Vision, the series sees Kat Dennings reprise her role as Darcy Lewis from the Thor movies, and Randall Park reprise his role as FBI agent Jimmy Woo, last seen in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’. In addition, Teyonah Parris (‘Mad Men’) takes the role of the grown-up Monica Rambeau, daughter of Carol Danvers’ best friend, Maria Rambeau, who we last saw as a child in ‘Captain Marvel’. Kathryn Hahn (‘Transparent’) also appears in the trailer, and it has been suggested by fans that she portray Agatha Harkness, one of the original witches from the Salem witch trials, who (in the comic books) became something of a mentor to Wanda.
Disney had originally said that ‘WandaVision’ was “on track” to arrive in December, but for whatever reason, they have now opted to move the series to January 2021. It’s unclear why they decided to move it, but whatever the reason, it gives you something to look forward to in the new year as the cold nights draw in!
As I mentioned at the top of the article, ‘WandaVision’ will now become the first MCU tv show, displacing ‘The Falcon and Winter Soldier’, which was originally supposed to kick things off. That has now been shifted to later in 2021, although it’s not totally clear if that is purely down to the COVID production delay, or whether it has some tie in to the ‘Black Widow’ movie when has also been bumped to 2021. Following that, we have ‘Loki‘ arriving in 2021, and (at some point) a ‘Hawkeye‘ series, all with the original movie stars taking reprising their roles. Disney+ has also announced an additional set of Marvel tv shows with brand new characters including ‘She-Hulk’, which is said to be starring the amazing Tatiana Maslany, ‘Ms. Marvel’ starring newcomer Iman Vellani, and ‘Moon Knight‘, which may be starring Oscar Isaacs, although we don’t yet know exactly when or in which order they will land.
‘WandaVision‘ is set to premiere Friday, 15th January 2021 on Disney+ worldwide.
