Marvel Studios is back in the business of releasing blockbuster projects, with a weekly release strategy in play for the first time in MCU history. To kick off Phase 4, Marvel is bringing the debut of its first Disney+ show, WandaVision, which has released four of its nine (or more) episodes in three weeks.
While the first three episodes of WandaVision focused largely on the alternate reality sitcom world that Wanda has created for herself, Episode 4 went full-on Marvel. Directly following the events of The Blip in Avengers: Endgame, characters like Monica Rambeau and Jimmy Woo carried this episode's plot, as the real world took center stage for the first time in Phase 4.
With this new release strategy on Disney+, Marvel Studios certainly took a risk by veering from the standard blockbuster movies for which they've been known since 2008. It turns out that concerns regarding the plan were present even amongst those bringing the series to life.
WANDAVISION'S HEAD WRITER SHARES WORRIES
In a recent sit-down with Digital Spy, WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer gave some insight into her experience with Phase 4's debut project, touching on some uncomfortable topics of discussion relating to the MCU's first Disney+ show. Though she was confident in Marvel's plan, the risk of the MCU's Disney+ venture not being successful was in the back of her mind:
"You know what? I was worried. I believed in it. I believed in the concept, and I believed in my take on it. And I was really, really interested in the risk of it. That's why I wanted the job, and why I showed up."
Thankfully, Schaeffer revealed that her team of writers "felt the same way", and all of them were willing to take the risk with the chance of such a rewarding adventure ahead:
"And my team of writers felt the same way. I hired a roomful of people who are so interested in doing things that are daring and surprising and bold and noisy. They all have all kinds of crazy influences."
Although Schaeffer was skeptical that this strategy wouldn't be "warmly received" among MCU fans, she now appears ecstatic that "people are still interested" after the first three weeks of WandaVision:
"I was so in for the process of it, but I was so nervous that it wouldn't be warmly received. I was nervous that people might turn away from it, or be confused, or their patience would wear thin. So now, here we are [after the fourth episode] and people are still interested. There aren't words.... I'm sort of bouncing off the walls. I'm so happy about it."
SCHAEFFER LOVING THE WANDAVISION EXPERIENCE
Jac Schaeffer is becoming a Marvel Studios regular, with her first credit coming as a screenwriter on 2019's Captain Marvel. She is also on the team of writers for Marvel Studios' first Phase 4 movie, Black Widow, as she helps open the door on the MCU's era on Disney+.
Even after releasing 23 movies in the Infinity Saga, some with record-breaking levels of success, there was some doubt whether the studio taking a dive into TV within the same franchise would work. This even came from some of the actors set to star in the series, especially since nothing like this has ever been attempted on this scale.
Marvel CCO Kevin Feige has been adamant over the past couple of years that the Disney+ shows will fit into the MCU narrative seamlessly, and that promise appears to be coming to fruition quickly. Episode 4 of WandaVision served as a direct followup to the end of the Infinity Saga, and the 35-minute entry truly felt like big-screen blockbuster quality transferred to the streaming service.
As the praise continues to come in for Marvel Studios, the team remains hard at work to keep up the excellent quality in their upcoming releases. This will continue with Episode 5 of WandaVision, which premieres on Friday, February 5.
