Marvel Set to Release a Sitcom Called WandaVision on Disney Plus

Just when you thought you’ve seen everything in 2020, Marvel is releasing a sitcom miniseries on Disney Plus. WandaVision is a six hour series about Wanda, the reality-warping witch (also known as Scarlet Witch), and her husband Vision, the android. It is set in an alternate reality in which Wanda and Vision are married and living the suburban life in a town called Westview. They are trying to hide their powers from the rest of the town. It’s an idyllic, picturesque suburban town, but in a fantasy world with two fan-favorite Avengers. It will be interesting to see how they explain Vision’s return considering he died not once, but twice in Infinity War. The series is also supposedly going to dive deeper into Wanda’s past and her full telekinetic capabilities.

Credit: Marvel Studios

Head writer Jac Schaeffer says that WandaVision is a love letter to the Golden Age of television. The miniseries will go through the decades, starting with the 1950’s, paying homage to I Love Lucy. Schaeffer also explains that “We’re paying tribute and honoring all of these incredible shows and people who came before us, [but] we’re also trying to blaze new territory.” In keeping with the classic sitcom tone, WandaVision was filmed in front of a live studio audience who had to sign very strict NDA’s. They also had to put in special measures within the production when the pandemic hit.

Credit: Marvel Studios

She and Matt Shakman, the director of WandaVision, enrolled in sitcom school to help them with the decade-hopping tone of the series. They even invited Dick Van Dyke to lunch at Disneyland to pick his brain about The Dick Van Dyke Show. They wanted to know how with all of the silly, physical comedy gags, the show never felt fake, and Van Dyke told them that “if it couldn’t happen in real life, it couldn’t happen on the show.”

Credit: Marvel Studios

Mary Livanos, co executive producer, was excited to be able to tell this story the way the comics did. In a way, WandaVision's story is told like a comic book series, which is right up Marvel’s alley. This very bizarre project by Marvel just proves that you can never stop evolving television. WandaVision will be released on Disney Plus on January 15th after its original release date of December 2020 was pushed back due to the pandemic.