Wanda Maximoff and Vision appear to be trapped in a surreal sitcom nightmare in Marvel’s first series for Disney Plus, WandaVision. Although the first two episodes kicked off the series with a more comedic tone, Disney director Matt Shakman has teased longer episodes and thrilling set pieces are on the way in the second half of the show.
WandaVision’s director Matt Shakman has shared some promising insight into the later episodes of the series as the first two episodes premiered on Disney Plus.
As the first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for well over a year, thanks to COVID delays, some viewers were taken aback by the show’s gentler tone and slower pace.
Normally accustomed to the likes of Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) taking on supervillains and world-ending threats, Wandavision has taken a more measured approach so far.
In the first two episodes, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) seem to be stuck in a simulation inspired by early TV sitcoms.
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However, Shakman indicated the bizarre change of pace for the blockbuster franchise isn’t representative of the series as a whole.
Speaking to RadioTimes, he said: “I will say that one of the joys of doing the show is that we were given so much freedom by Disney+ to create this bonkers show.
“[It] allowed us to play with form in every possible way. And that includes running time.”
Episodes one and two only run for about 20-30 minutes, though that is expected to change with the series as a whole reportedly running for around six hours.
Despite the MCU’s more experimental approach with its first venture onto Disney Plus, subscribers should still expect the franchise’s more familiar tropes to show up eventually.
Shakman confirmed: “We’ve always been describing it as a mix of classic sitcom and large-scale Marvel action and I think that’s very true, it’s an accurate way to talk about the show.”
The wildly successful franchise delivered arguably the biggest action film of all time with 2019’s record-breaking Avengers: Endgame.
While WandaVision may not reach the dizzying heights of Marvel’s big screen superhero extravaganzas, the director assured fans will be satisfied by the set pieces still to come.
He continued: “And it’s also been something that [Marvel Studios head] Kevin Feige has been saying since the beginning.
“One of the things he loves so much about this show is that it’s just so full of surprises. And when it decides to go big, it goes big.”
Whether this means a new supervillain is on the way has yet to be confirmed, though fans are already suspicious about Katheryn Hahn’s nosy neighbour, Agnes.
WandaVision continues Friday, January 22 on Disney Plus.