There are tons of romances in the MCU; Wanda and Vision, Steve Roger and Peggy Carter, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts—the list goes on and on. With VisionQuest, Marvel Studios has started building the foundation for something brand new, this time between Ruaridh Mollica's Tommy and Lauren Morais' Lisa Molinari.
Tommy is Vision and Wanda's long-lost son with super-speed powers, someone audiences have been waiting years to meet. Lisa is a sly pickpocket who first met Tommy when he sat next to her on a prison bus. That small moment sparked the fire of a long-lasting friendship, one that is clearly building towards something far more romantic.
The situation for Tommy and Lisa got pretty intense in VisionQuest's latest episode, as Lisa became the victim of T'Nia Miller's Jocasta and the evil robot's new nanites, setting off a chain of events that could bring her closer to her villainous comic counterpart.
The Direct was able to sit down with VisionQuest star Lauren Morais to talk all about Lisa and Tommy's blossoming romance and Lisa's potential descent into villainy.
The Special Romance Between Lisa and Tommy
"There Is an Instant Connection That Doesn't Need to Be Verbalized Between Them..."
- The Direct: "There's a romance I think brewing between [Tommy and Lisa], and there's tons of iconic Marvel romances. So, what would you say is that special spark between Lisa and Tommy?"
Lauren Morais: Well, I think it just all comes back to their meeting scene on the bus. I think there is an instant connection that doesn't need to be verbalized between them. I think what I love about the writing of that scene and that scene in general is that Tommy doesn't need to go into his backstory for Lisa to be inherently there for him instantly.
"I think their origin is really beautiful," Morais went on to note.
Morais: I think also they just have this understanding of you know they both gone through it to get to this point on this universe, so they're gonna get each other out of it, and I think that's beautiful. And you meet someone, and you're not sure why you connect, but you do, and you just accept it. I think their origin is really beautiful.
- The Direct: "One of the more stressful parts about early in a relationship, obviously, we're not there with you two yet, but hypothetically, right? Let's say we get there. How do you think Lisa would get along with the rest of the family? How would she handle Wanda and Wiccan? How would that family reunion go?
Lauren Morais: My God, that's such a fun question. I mean, I think you've seen in Episode 4 when Tommy is explaining Vision and everything that's just gone down. She's kind of so accepting. She's like, she literally said, 'Cool,' and he's like, 'What?' And she's like, 'Well, you know what? I trust you. I'm just going to go with it.' I really think that she would get on with the family. I think she'd sit there at dinner, fish and chips, and she would just like, guys, 'Let's get into it. Let's talk about it.' She is a bit of a talker. I think she's not someone who would make small talk. I feel like she'd be like Vision, Wonder, Billy, Tommy. What's going on? What's next? And I think that they'd respect that, and I think she'd have fun.
Will Lisa Stay a Hero or Turn Into a Villain?
"What I Do Like About Her Is the Dichotomy of Her and the Complicatedness..."
- The Direct: "Tricky question for you. Let's just hypothetically, right? I think this character could either end up [staying] a hero, or we could slip into some villainy, kind of like she's kind of in the middle here and there in the comics. But which would excite you more, do you think, in terms of exploring as an actor?"
Lauren Morais: Well, I think what I do like about her is the dichotomy of her and the complicatedness, and well, the complication between her artistry and seeing it as a performance art, and not being short. I think what makes characters really exciting is when they're wrestling between two extremes. So I think as an actor, I think I'd like to wrestle with it, I think that's what I'd actually love to explore.
She also pointed out how the questions that Vision asks himself in VisionQuest are questions that she herself finds very compelling.
Morais: And I think, like in 'VisionQuest' itself, you do see Vision wrestling a lot between who he is [and] what is family, and who does he consider [family]? I think that's why it's been a question [that's] so compelling. There's no black-and-white answer. It's a journey, and you know, accepting yourself, also having a part of yourself that's constantly questioning. I think that's very fun to watch.
Getting to Embody Jocasta Thanks to Those Pesky Nanites
"It's Such a Treat as an Actor to Play Something So Opposite..."
- The Direct: "That Jocasta scene... What was it like being able to play that big bad and embody somebody else there for just a second?"
Lauren Morais: It was so fun. I mean, like it's such a treat as an actor to play something so opposite in one series. It was definitely very opposite for Lisa. I mean, it came down to the amazing makeup by Fran with like the 3D, almost motherboard, and the veins and everything, and looking at yourself and looking physically different. And then I took, obviously, some inspiration from T'Nia [Miller] and her performance in the ball scene when she changes from like a metal Jocasta exterior to Joe and her movements, I definitely embodied that, and also the fighting. I've never done a fight scene like that before, and I just was like, after I was doing that scene, I was like, 'Wow, I'm actually an [Marvel star].'
