Jac Schaeffer, who shepherded Marvel Studios' streaming debut, is moving on to new horizons elsewhere. Marvel Studios launched its first true dive into TV on Disney+ in January 2021 with WandaVision, a reality-bending sitcom that kept fans guessing the whole time and spawned some of the wildest theories in MCU history. The Disney+ series remains a major part of the MCU conversation today, thanks to the two streaming sequels it has spawned in Agatha All Along and VisonQuest, the latter of which will premiere this fall to conclude the three-show saga.
According to Variety, WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer signed a three-year overall TV deal with Amazon, MGM Studios, and Prime Video to develop, write, executive produce, and direct original series. The beloved creative's move to Amazon marks the end of her time at Marvel Studios for now.
Schaeffer got her start at Disney by writing the Olaf's Frozen Adventure short before Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway's The Hustle for Universal. She circled back to Marvel Studios to create the MCU's first Disney+ show, WandaVision, work on the story for Black Widow, and eventually showrun Agatha All Along.
Her work on WandaVision once earned the head writer a three-year overall deal to develop TV projects for Marvel Studios and 20th Television, which ended in 2024. After which, Schaeffer was hired to helm the pilot for Disney+'s female-led Holes reboot that was abandoned in December.
Schaeffer is one of many creatives whose roles at Marvel Studios have expanded after developing successful projects. The most famous examples of that are Joe and Anthony Russo, who delivered two all-time greats in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, earning them the keys to the Avengers saga.
Similarly, Ant-Man's Peyton Reed, Black Panther's Ryan Coogler, Spider-Man: Homecoming's Jon Watts, and Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn delivered on their first MCU outing enough to earn a trilogy. In Gunn's case, it stacked his resume to the point that he is now running Marvel's chief rival, DC Studios.
WandaVision's head writer isn't the series' only MCU success story, as its director, Matt Shakman, received one of the Multiverse Saga's most coveted gigs with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (and he will reportedly be back for the sequel).
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was so beloved that director Destin Daniel Cretton was allowed to push forward with Disney+'s Wonder Man, chosen to take over the MCU's biggest solo superhero franchise with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and was once announced to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Jac Schaeffer Is Missing Out on the Perfect MCU Project For Her
The WandaVision creator will leave a lasting mark on the MCU, having birthed Marvel Studios' first and arguably best Disney+ series. Furthermore, Jac Schaeffer proved the haters wrong by delivering an all-time great with Agatha All Along, a spin-off of the witchy villain many once deemed unnecessary.
At one point, Schaeffer was expected to showrun a third MCU show in VisionQuest, the final chapter of her WandaVision trilogy (which continued in Agatha All Along) that will release this fall. She stepped back and handed the reins to Star Trek: Picard's Terry Matalas, explaining to The Hollywood Reporter that Agatha All Along and VisionQuest "overlapped in a way that wasn’t tenable:"
"Yeah, [Agatha All Along and VisionQuest] overlapped in a way that wasn’t tenable for me, and it was with a very heavy heart that I realized that it logistically wouldn’t work for me. But I am so looking forward to that show. I am just an enormous cheerleader for everybody involved, especially [Paul Bettany]."
Recent reports stated that Marvel Studios is developing a solo project for Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff. Given the success of WandaVision, Schaeffer quickly became the fandom's top choice to write and direct Scarlet Witch's movie or Disney+ show, but that seems doubtful after her recent deal with Amazon.
There is always the chance that Schaeffer's schedule has freed up by the time Marvel Studios is ready to go all-in on Wanda's solo adventure, and she has advocated for a Scarlet Witch movie in the past. While her deal with Amazon is only for three years and will be over in 2029, there is no telling where Schaeffer's career will be after spending some time on original TV projects.
