WandaVision officially came to a close, wrapping up the core storyline of Wanda Maximoff that was confirmed to be centered around the character's grief . The much-talked-about Disney+ series started off slow due to its sitcom-based approach, but it managed to pick up the pace in the last three episodes by including more action and highly-anticipated answers.
In addition, WandaVision also served as the beacon for numerous fan theories, mainly due to subtle clues that were included throughout the nine-episode run of the series.
From Mephisto's rumored inclusion all the way to Dottie's powerful comic-book persona , the show had no shortage of theories on what was really going on in Westview, and this could also explain why some fans were disappointed that those rumblings didn't come to fruition.
Now, as viewers are still recovering from the mind-blowing finale, a new interview has surfaced to shed some light on the matter.
WANDAVISION CREATOR AND ELIZABETH OLSEN REACT TO FAN THEORIES
WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer and Wanda Maximoff star Elizabeth Olsen recently sat down with Variety to talk about the hit MCU series, and one of the topics that was discussed was the plethora of fan theories that surfaced online.
The interviewer opened up by pointing out that Evan Peters' inclusion as Pietro Maximoff became the main topic of discussion among fans, with some even speculating that he was reprising his role from Fox's X-Men universe. Given that, it led viewers to wonder if other actors from the aforementioned franchise such as Magneto actor Ian McKellen or Professor X star Patrick Stewart would show up, but Schaeffer admitted that she “didn't expect people to get carried away in that way:”
"Naively, I didn't expect people to get carried away in that way. I'm curious to hear what Lizzie has to say about this, but we didn't anticipate that the show would drop after a full year of an MCU drought in the middle of a pandemic. I think we're all so delighted by the response and so happy, I think, especially about the emotional response and how our discussion of grief has been embraced. I can speak for my writer's room, I think that was our chief motivation and guiding light, and then all the other things are the fun of it."
The head scribe then shared the reaction of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about the theories while also teasing that she knows “a little bit about all the things” regarding the MCU future of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff:
“I couldn't have anticipated… I don't know, maybe Mary Livanos and Kevin Feige are like, “Yeah, it's like this every time.” But I'm like, these theories are crazy! So it wasn't that was not part of my thinking, and also, that's not my department. I am lucky enough that I get to hear about the other projects, and sometimes I'm involved and their conversations. I know a little bit about all the things that Lizzie's been up to. But that's a bigger, fancier thing, what you're asking about.”
Meanwhile, Olsen was asked about the theory regarding Michael Fassbender's Magneto showing up in Westview, but the actress unveiled that she is “not really aware of what these fan theories were.” The MCU veteran did acknowledge that “people are actually going to suspect that there is more to come:”
"I knew that there are theories that had to do with people wanting more surprises in cameos. But I'm not really that aware of what these fan theories were, so I'm kind of learning about it as we go. Paul said something about this crazy cameo when he was really just talking about doing a scene with himself, and I know Paul thought that was a really funny joke, and I thought it was funny. But I was like, I think people are actually going to suspect that there is more to come."
Lastly, Olsen shared that she “didn't know about the multiverse” while filming WandaVision and pointed out that “it was just a clever way to have a Pietro” in the show:
"I didn't know about the multiverse when we were filming this. So I wouldn't assume that that's what was happening. I thought it was just a clever way to have a Pietro. I didn't understand the larger plan of the multiverse until I started working on “Multiverse,” or whatever our movie's called, the “Doctor Strange” sequel!"
WANDAVISION'S FAN THEORIES SOMEHOW ELEVATED THE SHOW
It's no secret that the fabricated reality of Wanda in Westview presented creative ways for Marvel to showcase Easter eggs and clever MCU nods. This strategy essentially created an opportunity to integrate Evan Peters into the massive ensemble of characters from WandaVision , and the mystery surrounding the character was more than enough to drum up hype for the show.
The debut of Peters as fake Pietro Maximoff in “Episode 5" became one of the most-talked-about moments of WandaVision , mainly because a good chunk of the fandom believed that the MCU is now integrating the multiverse into the franchise's interconnected storytelling. As is, it makes narrative sense for the show to do this considering that Wanda is involved in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , but it was made clear in the finale that this was not the case.
Schaeffer's reaction by saying that she didn't expect people “to get carried away in that way” is understandable, mainly due to the continued shift in the Phase 4 slate of the MCU because of the pandemic. For starters, WandaVision wasn't originally planned to kick off the next chapter of the franchise, but it seems that the drought of Marvel content led to the overwhelming number of fan theories that surfaced.
On top of that, the TV format of the show clearly worked since it gave fans an opportunity to be immersed in discussion every week.
On a separate note, Olsen's admission that she is “not really aware” of the fan theories shouldn't be surprising given that the actress is focused on the next chapter of Wanda in the Doctor Strange sequel. Still, it's good to hear that the actress acknowledged Paul Bettany's “crazy cameo” comment would eventually lead to people expecting that “there is more to come.”
The secrecy surrounding Marvel Studios, which was popularized by the Marvel snipers per se, became an ongoing trend whenever a new project was released, and WandaVision is no stranger to that. At this stage, the cast, mainly Olsen and Bettany, appears to know how to preserve spoilers when it comes to talking to the press. The pair managed to utilize a unique strategy by teasing more things to come, thus leading to the emergence of a wide array of speculation from viewers.
Whatever the case, whether proven or not, these fan theories helped WandaVision in more ways than one, considering that it prompted more questions than answers to keep the show relevant on a consistent basis.
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