Despite having 85 years’ worth of successful source material from which to draw, Marvel Studios has certainly felt the need to blaze its own trail in weaving the ongoing shared narrative tapestry that is the MCU. Whether it be through tiny alterations here or major alterations there, many of the characters and stories that have filled up screens big and small since 2008’s Iron Man have their own unique spin to them that makes them different from their comic book counterparts. However, in some cases, the creatives at Marvel Studios have stayed surprisingly within the lines, delivering a more comic-accurate interpretation of the stories of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and the legions of talented writers and artists who followed them.
In 2016’s Captain America: Civil War–which is itself an example of the studio’s tendency to borrow names but not directly adapt the stories or ideas that go with them–directors Anthony and Joe Russo set the stage for one of Marvel Comics’ weirdest romances to develop. Paul Bettany‘s synthezoid Avenger, Vision, and Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff’s wonderfully awkward flirtations in Civil War blossomed into full-grown love by the time Avengers: Infinity War–another example of the studio’s tendency to borrow names but not directly adapt the stories or ideas that go with them–came to be. Exploring the relationship between Vision and Wanda on screen allowed the directors to render one of the MCU’s most heartbreaking scenes as Wanda destroyed her love in a failed attempt to save the universe. As the Infinity Saga came to a close, it seemed as though the love story of Wanda and Vision had come to an end but instead, the studio decided to take a turn for the even weirder.
Mixing Kevin Feige‘s love of sitcoms with the main premise of the 1985 12-issue limited Marvel Comics series The Vision and The Scarlet Witch, Marvel Studios kicked off its post-Endgame era with WandaVision. The 9-episode series saw the traumatized Wanda cast a spell that allowed her to recreate the Vision, allowing the lovers to explore a life of what Feige called “suburban bliss” along with their twin sons, Billy and Tommy. We know how it ended and what happened next but as the studio prepares to roll out the first WandaVision spinoff, Agatha All Along, news about the second spinoff, a Paul Bettany-led Vision series, has begun to make its way online and the latest bit indicates that the studio hasn’t closed the book on Vision and Wanda just yet.
Just as word came that James Spader had inked a deal to return to the Vision series as Ultron, Deadline shared the news that Olsen’s Wanda, who was last seen being buried under rubble in the final act of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, may be on board for an appearance in the series as well.
Though this isn’t the first time Olsen’s name has been associated with the series, much has changed since the first reports that a Vision Quest series was in the works nearly two years ago. Originally developed by WandaVision and Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer, the series was recently handed off to Star Trek: Picard creator Terry Matalas. With a change of creators can come a change of creative decisions so while the series was originally expected to adapt Tom King‘s 2015 12-issue Vision series, it’s unclear what direction Matalas might take; however, the return of Ultron might indicate it will be quite different than the original plan.
Olsen’s return, should it happen, would seem to indicate a reunion is in the cards for Wanda and Vision and their twin sons. Joe Locke is widely accepted to be playing the reborn Billy in Agatha All Along and a recent report that the studio is looking to cast Javon Walton as, potentially, the reborn Tommy in Vision. The untitled Vision series is expected to begin production in the UK in early 2025.
Source: Deadline
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