After 18 months away from mainstream media, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to make its grand return in January 2021 with WandaVision on Disney+.
The show still has plenty of mysteries in need of solving relating to its plot, most notably how Vision is brought back to life, but the hype is building to finally see how the MCU continues after the events of 2019's Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home .
WandaVision is already recognized as one of the wackiest and craziest properties the MCU has ever brought to screen as it explores alternate realities brought to life by Wanda's superpowers. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of this insanity will be that the series is shown through the lens of at least six different decades of network TV, starting with 1950s sitcoms and continuing through to the present day.
In a recent magazine interview, starring actress Elizabeth Olsen delved into what it was like to film these multiple peeks into TV history.
NEWS
Speaking with SFX Magazine , WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen opened up about filming the Disney+ series, particularly in respect to the different eras of network TV through which it will be shown. She specifies the 1970s and '80s as "delicious" due to the humor explored through them, and how everything was played as "cheesy" back in the day.
Olsen was asked if she had a "favorite" era from WandaVision , to which she explained:
"The '50s was actually very hard for me because there is this struggle having an audience there, as you’re playing for the camera. And it put me in this place of not forgetting that! The '70s and the '80s were delicious because there’s a lot of playful humour, so you get to play the cheese of it, and there is something that was really enjoyable and freeing about that. Then in the '80s, what I loved about that was you get to lean into the sincerity, which is also like playing into the cheese in a different way."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Paul Bettany shared Olsen's sentiments in a previous interview about Marvel Studios going so far as to include a live studio audience for the 1950s portion of the show, which is confirmed to be a large part of the pilot episode. Even though some TV sitcoms today still utilize a live studio audience, this is the first time one has been used for a Marvel Studios project. None of the actors involved have ever had to act with this added challenge before, but it certainly appears to have helped put them in the right frame of mind for what they were putting on screen.
As for the '70s and '80s, series like The Brady Bunch and Family Ties served as inspiration for WandaVision as the two superheroes build the foundation for their family. It should be something to watch out for as Elizabeth Olsen lets loose with the freeing environment she described these episodes as having. Not only are these eras confirmed to bring twin babies for Wanda and Vision, they will also help to introduce Teyonnah Parris' Monica Rambeau as their reality begins to fall apart around them.
These looks into the history of sitcoms will be something to look out for as WandaVision premieres on Disney+ on January 15.
