It’s been quite some time since the world witnessed the end of the MCU’s decade-long Infinity Saga, about 18 months to be exact. Yet, it somehow still feels like only yesterday fans were mourning the loss of Tony Stark in theaters with the latest Spider-Man flick. Regardless, WandaVision — the first series of the cinematic universe — has officially dropped on Disney+, and it’s certainly everything it promised it would be and more.
The show, at least in its first two episodes, is nothing like anything the MCU has ever seen before. It plays like a classic through-the-decades sitcom with humor and cheesy effects piled on front and center. Underneath, though, is something much, much darker. Whether it’s deliberately hinted at or not, there’s a sinister feeling of dread laced through every moment of old, feel-good nostalgia.
And so far, this has resulted in not only one of the MCU’s most intriguing entries, but in one of the most fascinating series to ever play out on screen. The tiny moments and hints that have been given to viewers as of now are already enough to spark conspiracy theories about what in the world is going on. Not to mention, Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen are giving the series their absolute all. Their pseudo-comedic performances come off so endearingly and strong that this series would work just as a legitimate sitcom.
The best thing of all about WandaVision, though, is what the show means for the future of Marvel. It demonstrates to an extreme extent that Marvel isn’t going to simply settle into a post-Endgame formula. For most studios, that would be understandable to do so, as it would make sense to take things easy and not go too crazy after such a long and successful story arc.
Instead, their first series shows that the higher ups of the MCU want to keep things fresh and exciting for fans even after over a decade of content. They’re not going to be afraid to try new things, and they’re certainly not going to be afraid of any potential audience backlash — because, truly, they’ve rightly earned the trust of viewers everywhere.
Adding shows like WandaVision to the cinematic mix seems to also work as the better way of experimenting with other genres and methods of storytelling. Sure, the upcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier seems to be fairly in line with what fans have come to expect form Marvel, but the next series after that — Loki — looks just as experimental as WandaVision.
And as long as the rest of this show and those that follow succeed, these experiments will begin to carry over into films like Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Of course, this isn’t to say they should veer too far away from the Marvel everyone has come to know and love, but it’s always a great idea to continue to be innovative and add on to the success of what they’ve already built as opposed to just riding it out.
In this sense, WandaVision seems to be the perfectly strange opener to the next era of the MCU. Bigger names and heroes are gone, the original decade-long arc is over, and a lot is up in the air. But some clarity might be found within the confusing direction of WandaVision. It’s going to get weird, it’s going to get crazy and it might even get a little scary. At the end of the day, though, it’s still Marvel.
And WandaVision is already showcasing that it’s all going to be just as exciting and captivating as what fans have seen so far.
Jackson Horvat is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Jackson by tweeting him at @horvatjackson.
