SPOILERS: WandaVision Discussion / Reactions to Most Recent Episodes

[doctornick]

So the director of the series just did an interview and shared how the pandemic hurt the finale and series overall. There were a lot of cool tidbits so I'm just gonna highlight some of the important things, but the video is in the article if you'd like to check it out.

-Finale was finished two weeks before the release date
-Originally supposed to be 10 episodes with the first 3 coming out on the same day
-The engineer tease was 100% on purpose, but he was worried that it was going to be very disappointing when people started thinking it was Reed Richards.
-Lots of CGI shots were rushed and put awkwardly into the final cut of the finale
-Monica was even originally going to have a bigger role in the finale, such as her, the kids, Ralph, and Darcy trying to steal the Darkhold from the basement.
-The bunny Scratchy was a demon but they couldn't finish the VFX on time for it

Not mentioned in the article, but I think the pandemic also affected the Doctor Strange cameo that had been rumored by multiple insiders. Sucks that everything got cut down due to the pandemic. The article is here if you would like to check it out

I'll have to listen to the interview but that makes sense. The engineer tease was the one big thing that seemed off to me in terms of not delivering payoff - it was mentioned more than once so clearly was implied to be something more important that what it ended up. I think they could have handled it better - at least doing a throwaway line when Monica got the rover vehicle that the engineer "couldn't be there" or something.

Also I wonder who the engineer was supposed to be? It's unclear if it was meant to be Reed Richards and it didn't work out or that it was someone else (Riri maybe?) and they were afraid it would disappoint by not being Reed.

A number of people stated the CGI seemed worse as the series progressed so it seems there may have been a reason for that. I don't notice that stuff as much but this puts it in context. I'm still they got the MCU content off the ground though and didn't continue to delay.

Also it explains why the finale seemed a bit rushed like they were doing a lot at once. I was fine with it but having stuff spread out over longer with more content would have been cool. It also explains why the runtime was shorter than originally revealed and that there were rumors of 2 episodes the final week for a total of 10.

 

[doctornick]

That's why it worked, though. Nobody cared about the Ed Norton Hulk movie -- I'm pretty sure it actually lost money. It's one of two MCU films I haven't seen.

Huge difference between replacing an actor who was in one failed movie and replacing an actor who became synonymous with the role. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I think you'd see a lot of angry people if they brought Tony Stark or Steve Rogers back within the next 5 years and it wasn't RDJ or Chris Evans, respectively.

They could probably do it 15+ years down the road, though, if the MCU is still going by then.

I tend to agree with you. You can replace smaller roles, especially before they become more established and people will accept it. But it's a world of difference to replace/reboot a beloved character who has "died" with a different actor. I really don't see how they could bring back any of Tony/Steve/Natasha with a different actor and have people be okay with it. And, for what it is worth, I think they have the same issue if they replaced the actors for either either Bruce Banner or James Rhodes now - when they did it before they were much less well established (as was the MCU in general).

I think it's an interesting question as to what the MCU will do if it continues with the same continuity for a very long time (another 10+ years, for example). For now, they still have a crapload of other characters they can be using and don't need to revisit previous ones - especially with the X-Men and Fantastic Four back in the fold which alone could provide a ton of content. Personally, I'd prefer they just end the MCU and restart another film series before bringing back characters with different actors, but I don't think that's a hurdle they have to worry about for years. And I trust Feige to do it right - I hope he stays in his role for a long time.

 

[doctornick]

As I mentioned it’s already happened in the MCU with Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. And it’s not likely to be the last either. I mean just look at now 3 actors playing Spider-Man, all of which will now be in the MCU and canon.

We are literally going to see this play out in 2 of the next MCU movies, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They will be having different actors playing the various characters, including Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

Which goes back to my point, as long as the storytelling is good the audience will understand and accept it.

You are guessing and do not know what those movies will do. And rumors around doesn't mean much - a lot of people took Peters being in WandaVision as fact that the FoX-Men would be brought into the MCU and... it wasn't the case. (Yeah!)

Regarding your other points....

Spoiler: Conjecture about future movies

Regarding Spider-Man, we don't know how it will play out, but it is key to consider that those movies are still controlled by Sony and they do stupid things. I am confident that Maguire/Garfield will be actually revising their Peter Parker roles, but am skeptical it will be much more than small roles nor that it will be a lasting change to the MCU. In fact, my guess is that Feige will try to restrict that stuff to Sony only films as much as possible.

As for Dr. Strange, we have no idea how it will play out and I'd be very surprised to see different actors playing established characters in that. In fact, I think much like the Fox X-Men hype, I would temper any expectations you have in that regard lest you be disappointed

 

[Disney Irish]

You are guessing and do not know what those movies will do. And rumors around doesn't mean much - a lot of people took Peters being in WandaVision as fact that the FoX-Men would be brought into the MCU and... it wasn't the case. (Yeah!)

Regarding your other points....

Spoiler: Conjecture about future movies

Regarding Spider-Man, we don't know how it will play out, but it is key to consider that those movies are still controlled by Sony and they do stupid things. I am confident that Maguire/Garfield will be actually revising their Peter Parker roles, but am skeptical it will be much more than small roles nor that it will be a lasting change to the MCU. In fact, my guess is that Feige will try to restrict that stuff to Sony only films as much as possible.

As for Dr. Strange, we have no idea how it will play out and I'd be very surprised to see different actors playing established characters in that. In fact, I think much like the Fox X-Men hype, I would temper any expectations you have in that regard lest you be disappointed

Actually its not guessing, its been confirmed based on casting for both movies.

 

[doctornick]

Actually its not guessing, its been confirmed based on casting for both movies.

I don't follow or care about casting news, but it was "confirmed" that Evan Peters was playing Quicksilver in WandaVision and here we are. Marvel does a good job of only letting out information they want when they do and has been known to obscure or confuse details when desired.

 

[Disney Irish]

I don't follow or care about casting news, but it was "confirmed" that Evan Peters was playing Quicksilver in WandaVision and here we are. Marvel does a good job of only letting out information they want when they do and has been known to obscure or confuse details when desired.

Just because you don't care or follow casting news doesn't mean its not valid. Also no one is stating they know exactly what the story line will be of the two movies. However given what has been stated publicly by Feige himself plus casting we have a good idea.

As for the Evan Peters casting given what we know now of the story line it makes sense. However that same fake out won't be able to be used for those two movies with all the former cast coming back to revise their roles, and all the new cast coming in to fill out different versions of existing MCU characters from the multiverse.

 

[MisterPenguin]

So the director of the series just did an interview and shared how the pandemic hurt the finale and series overall. There were a lot of cool tidbits so I'm just gonna highlight some of the important things, but the video is in the article if you'd like to check it out.

-Finale was finished two weeks before the release date
-Originally supposed to be 10 episodes with the first 3 coming out on the same day
-The engineer tease was 100% on purpose, but he was worried that it was going to be very disappointing when people started thinking it was Reed Richards.
-Lots of CGI shots were rushed and put awkwardly into the final cut of the finale
-Monica was even originally going to have a bigger role in the finale, such as her, the kids, Ralph, and Darcy trying to steal the Darkhold from the basement.
-The bunny Scratchy was a demon but they couldn't finish the VFX on time for it

Not mentioned in the article, but I think the pandemic also affected the Doctor Strange cameo that had been rumored by multiple insiders. Sucks that everything got cut down due to the pandemic. The article is here if you would like to check it out

WRT: Engineer... my understanding of the interview was that they had no intention for that to be a clue to anything.

Also: use of "kickass" was also unintended to be a reference to the actors' previous work.

Turns out the commercials were just mood setting and referential with no bigger meaning.

Totally worth watching that interview.

 

[MisterPenguin]

 

[DCBaker]

‘WandaVision’ EP & Head Scribe Jac Schaeffer On Scarlet Witch’s Grief & Who Didn’t Show Up In “The Series Finale” – Q&A

SPOILER ALERT: The following interview with WandaVision EP and head writer Jac Schaeffer contains details about the Disney+/Marvel series’ finale “The Series Finale.” If you haven’t already read our recap of WandaVision‘s “The Series Finale”, you can read it here. But let’s get down to brass...

deadline.com

 

[MisterPenguin]

‘WandaVision’: Elizabeth Olsen and Jac Schaeffer on Wanda’s Kids, Fan Theories and the Future of the Show

Elizabeth Olsen and Jac Schaeffer talk "WandaVision," casting Evan Peters as Pietro, Wanda's twin boys and the future of the show.

variety.com

 

[DCBaker]

Exclusive: Preview Marvel's Behind-the-Scenes Look at 'Wandavision'

A new Disney+ documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at 'Wandavision'

www.rollingstone.com

 

[waltography]

Finished the Assembled special, it was pretty good! Nothing groundbreaking, but personally fun to see more behind-the-scenes footage (pains me to see the special having a longer runtime than any of the 9 episodes ). So many interesting moments here:

• I noticed a lot of scenes where Wanda and Agnes come out of the Wentworth's and initially thought it was just b-footage for the intro, but there was a moment with dialogue that I don't remember in the show. I wonder if it's a deleted scene (and on that note I'd love to see the deleted scenes on the show!)
• The rigging to do all the flying shots is super cool; seeing Elizabeth and Kathryn dangling from a spinning metal frame is so fun.
• I'm under the impression that the final episodes were filmed during the pandemic; if that's true, the blocking we saw in the final episode where the town crowds around Wanda in a very organized/spaced out pattern makes a little more sense to me

 

[Princess Leia]

I'm with you on that, I'm not a huge fan either.

She seamed to be among the most hated MCU characters thanks to the Thor movies (consensus was she was annoying and didn't add anything to the story), but now everyone likes her?

I didn't hate her in this, but I feel like public opinion has made a 180 on Darcy.

I actually enjoyed the first Thor movie, but thought her dialogue didn’t really fit the film. Jane was already the audience stand in, so we didn’t really need another. On the flip side, it at least gave us enough dialogue for that film to pass the Bechdel Test.

 

[NinjagoFEF10]

I love watching Wandavision! i like Billy most

 

[MisterPenguin]

Worth it for the analysis..



Also good:

 

[NinjagoFEF10]

thanks! Byeee

 

[DCBaker]

The story of WandaVision‘s main character, Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), is set to continue in 2022’s Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but the two projects were almost linked much more directly. As Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reveals in Rolling Stone‘s upcoming, extensive oral history of WandaVision, Marvel struck a deal with Benedict Cumberbatch to appear in the final episode of the show as Dr. Strange. But late in the process, they wrote him out.

“Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Dr. Strange,’” says Feige. “But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do. We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.’” That meant the Dr. Strange movie, too, had to be rewritten. In the end, Feige says, Marvel’s process is “a wonderful combination of very dedicated coordination, and chaos. Chaos magic.” At one point, back when Dr. Strange was supposed to be part of the story, the in-universe commercials were going to be messages from Strange to Wanda, and there was also talk of having Cumberbatch appear in one of the ads, head writer Jac Schaeffer says."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Olsen is pushing back on criticism that Wanda got off too easy by flying away without punishment after she forced an entire town of people into her sitcom fantasy world. “She had to get away before the people who have to hold her accountable got there,” she says. “And where she went is a place that no one could find her. Because she knows that she is going to be held accountable, and I think she has a tremendous amount of guilt.”

How Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange Almost Appeared in 'WandaVision'

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explains why a planned Dr. Strange appearance would've "taken away from Wanda."

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Screamface]

here’s the white guy,

Groan

 

[The Sorcerers Aprentice]

I would have loved to see how they would have worked Dr. Strange into the commercials. However I get why they decided to keep him out until his movie.

 

[waltography]

I guess that explains why the commercials never really got a complete resolution, though I do like the implication that the commercials were a bit of Wanda's trauma being compartmentalized into a bite-sized, painless ad break. Totally agree with the decision to leave Dr. Strange out of it (assuming he had a bigger role to play as it seems to suggest), but I wouldn't have minded seeing him in the post credits.