Tag: Disney Plus

Weekend at ‘WandaVision’s: Theorizing How Vision Was Resurrected

Can you believe it? Tomorrow, WandaVision is finally released. After a year hiatus, the Marvel Cinematic Universe returns in style. It isn’t just the first entry in Marvel Studios’ fourth phase, but it is also their first brand new series on Disney+. Of course, they are returning in style by featuring our starstruck lovers, Wanda, and Vision trying to live a suburban life. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Marvel Studios’ story if something wasn’t going wrong. We know that Vision died at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. So, the question remains how is he alive again? If you’ve read the title for this feature, you might already know where I am going with this theory. I sadly believe that while we see Vision interact on his own in the various trailers, he still is dead.

The version of the character we see is, in fact, just the remnants of the android hero through Wanda’s powers. In a way, she is just controlling his body the way Larry and Richard handled their CEO in 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s. In Wanda’s case, her powers are giving him the ability to act independently. Her memories of the android are giving him life, but only as long as he remains within Westview. Yet, if someone from the outside is looking in, it might just be a lifeless husk floating around with the red hex surrounding it. I actually got the idea when I saw Marvel Studios president’s cap from the WandaVision press release. It featured Wanda’s red outfit combined with a white version of Vision, which just added more to this theory. The more I thought about it, the story’s climax may be quite similar to that of the recently released Wonder Woman 1984.

The eerie feeling conveyed throughout the trailers may be a clear sign of something going wrong. Every idyllic life has its secrets to hide. She made a deal with Agnes, who is still theorized to be the cause for her powers going out of control, to bring him back. Little did she know, it was just a temporary fix that would give her the life she dreamt of for a limited time. At the end of the series, she would have to make a clear decision. Will she embrace her illusion or accept that she would have to let go eventually. The moment the hex surrounding Westview gets broken, she sees what he was the entire time. Yet, that doesn’t stop her from still loving him as she gives him one last embrace and hears his voice echo in her head. Hopefully, I am wrong, and there is a future for Vision in the MCU beyond this project.

January 14, 2021
Wanda Maximoff: The Story So Far

It’s been over a year now since the last time fans got treated to some brand new MCU content. With the release of WandaVision, the wait is nearly over. So, we thought it might be a perfect time to catch up with our favorite characters before the premiere of the Disney+ series. We have a surprisingly extensive cast returning to the series, so we decided to focus on individual characters as we near the show’s release on Disney+. Today, we’ll explore the history of the MCU’s resident witch, Wanda Maximoff, or better known as the Scarlet Witch.

Wanda Maximoff entered the MCU during the post-credit scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She and her brother, Pietro Maximoff, were the only survivors of Wolfgang Von Strucker’s experiments. They got imbued with the powers through Loki’s scepter, which later revealed to contain the Mind Stone. It seems it was a hotspot for genetic irregularities and that the cosmic rays of the Mind Stone managed to activate their dormant powers. These powers were the driving force once they fought the Avengers in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She played with the minds of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Both led to some dire consequences. One of them being the creation of Ultron, who persuaded them to join his cause. It wasn’t until he revealed his plan that they would help the Avengers take him down. However, it came at the cost of her brother’s life, which led to us a glimpse of her powers going out of control. Afterward, she becomes a full-time member of the Avengers and starts a new life in the States.

Wanda’s life as part of the Avengers wasn’t a simple one, especially in Captain America: Civil War. The mercenary Crossbones was trying to blow up everyone with a bio-weapon in Lagos, which she tried to contain. Sadly, she couldn’t hold it forever. These events resulted in the Sokovia Accords. Wanda signed them out of guilt for her actions. For PR reasons, she remained at the Avengers mansion with Vision acting as her guardian. It was the spark that started creating a bond between the two. After Hawkeye helped her escape, she found herself siding with Captain America. It ended up in her getting arrested and trapped on the Raft. That was until Rogers returned and broke them out.

The next time we revisit the unusual couple is during Avengers: Infinity War. She remains on the run while periodically meeting up with Vision, as their love started to blossom. Suddenly, they are attacked by the Black Order, who are after the Mind Stone. They barely manage to get away with their life once Roger arrives to help them. Their journey takes them to Wakanda, where the Wakandan princess Shuri attempts to remove the stone while preserving Vision’s consciousness. However, that plan fails once Thanos arrives with the other stones in his possession. This forces Wanda to make the ultimate sacrifice, as she manages to destroy the Mind Stone alongside her love. Unfortunately, the effort was all for null, as Thanos used the Time Stone to bring back the Vision and retrieve the Mind stone to complete his mission. The moment he snapped his finger, Wanda was among those to vanish into dust.

After the Avengers managed to turn the tide on Thanos in their battle in Avengers: Endgame, they managed to return those that got dusted. Wanda returned to fight alongside her friends to defeat those that hurt her. She even got her chance for revenge, as she faced the Mad Titan once more with all she had. In the aftermath, the heroes mourn the loss of Tony Stark. In a moment of reprieve, she and Hawkeye discuss those that were lost, where she hints at Vision knowing they succeeded. that was the last moment we saw Marvel’s sorceress. At some point, she ended up trapped in a sitcom dimension. It seems that somehow Vision was even revived. We’ll find out more once the Disney+ show premieres on January 15th.

January 14, 2021
3 Ways Marvel Studios Can Find New Fans in Phase 4

The last couple of years for Marvel’s Phase 3 seemed like the pinnacle of the MCU’s popularity. Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War hit a bunch of records and milestones for both the franchise and the genre as a whole, and the three movies that came out in 2019 all surpassed $1.1 billion. And, of course, Avengers: Endgame grossed well over double that amount to becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.

The hype for Phase 4 is still massive, of course, but it’s hard to imagine it surpassing the level it was at during the back half of Phase 3. I know the same thing was said about The Avengers back in 2012, but at this point, the MCU is probably the most popular movie franchise in the world. Pretty much everyone who would be interested in checking out these movies has done so by now, and the films themselves can’t get any bigger in scope and scale than they already have. Even with all the multiverse stuff on the horizon, we won’t see a movie with as many headlining heroes as the most recent two Avengers films for quite some time, if ever.

If Marvel Studios wants to expand its audience – and it surely does, especially since becoming a major part of a streaming service that needs to keep growing its subscription count by appealing to as wide a variety of potential users as possible – it needs a new approach to hook newcomers. And from the looks of the MCU project lineup set for the next few years, there are three main ways they are aiming to achieve this.

Inclusion

This is something we started to see more of an emphasis on towards the end of Phase 3 (it probably would have come sooner if not for Ike Perlmutter). Black Panther was a phenomenon that was highly praised not just as a superhero movie, but as a cultural moment for the Black community. Captain Marvel was the introduction for a lot of girls and women to superhero movies and many have since gotten invested in the MCU. Both movies piqued the interest of people who wouldn’t normally watch superhero movies, and a decent amount of those people seem to have stuck around and are now eagerly awaiting more Marvel content.

Looking at the 2021 projects alone, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Ms. Marvel, and Eternals are all set to feature characters from backgrounds that are underrepresented not just in superhero and action movies, but Hollywood in general. While it’s unknown just how well these stories and depictions are going to be handled, if they’re in a similar vein to the two aforementioned projects in how well they represent groups including the Asian, Muslim, Deaf, and LGBTQA+ (or GRSM) communities, they may draw in viewers from them who wouldn’t normally be into Marvel material and could be a major factor in the push for more of this kind of (hopefully positive) representation in the media going forward.

Medium

Pandemic aside, the launch of Disney+ couldn’t have come at a better time for Marvel Studios. It came out at the time when Marvel could no longer just keep scaling the scope of their movies up with each new event film; they had to find a new way to grow and expand their universe. The addition of miniseries on a streaming service to tie in with their theatrical films seems like a great direction for them to go in as it allows the studio to develop certain corners of the franchise in a deeper way than they could while operating on simply a few-films-per-year content schedule. It may also attract new fans who have subscribed to Disney+ for other reasons, like Star Wars or the library of classic animated films; it’s easier to press a few buttons and try something new on a streaming service that you’re already paying for than to drive out and fork over more money to go to a theatre and see something you’re not sure if you’ll like or not. And if newcomers to Marvel do enjoy the archive of movies and episodes of the new series, they may be more apt to head out to theatres to see future movies in the MCU.

Genre

Marvel Studios is no stranger to playing around with different genres; Ant-Man is a heist movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier a political thriller, Guardians of the Galaxy a space comedy, etc. But some have pointed out that a lot of the movies seem to be getting formulaic in a sense, and it looks like Marvel Studios is trying to get away from that in Phase 4.

WandaVision is perhaps the most obvious example of a departure from the norm in terms of genre, given that several of its episodes will be much more sitcom-y than a typical action-adventure one would normally expect from Marvel Studios. Also on Disney+ will be the law comedy of She-Hulk and mystery thriller of Loki.

On the film side of things, Eternals is said to have a very different look and feel to the other MCU movies thus far, and it has been noted that the bulk of the film was shot on practical sets built specifically for the movie. There’s also been a lot of talk about how much Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness will diverge from the typical vibe of a Marvel movie. It was originally announced to be “the first scary MCU movie”, but there’s been debate about just how scary it will be, given the film’s PG-13 rating and original director Scott Derickson’s departure from the project and replacement by Sam Raimi.

The Doctor Strange sequel might not be getting the R rating some fans wanted, but at least one film on Marvel’s docket will and another just might. Shortly after Blade’s announcement in 2019 it was rumored to be rated R, and Deadpool 3 was confirmed to also be rated R (and set in the MCU) just a few days ago during WandaVision press. The R rating for Blade, in particular, may attract a certain demographic of moviegoers not normally into the MCU who generally prefer darker fare.

Marvel may be on top of the world right now, but it’s important that the studio doesn’t get complacent going into this next phase of projects and beyond. It’s time to take risks and get weird, and we’re about to see if they’re going to do just that.

January 14, 2021
‘MOON KNIGHT’ Adds May Calamawy to Cast

Baharani actress May Calamawy has joined the cast of Moon Knight, according to a trade report. Calamawy, is fresh off a big role in the Emmy-nominated Hulu series, Ramy, joins Oscar Isaac as part of the cast.

Moon Knight is expected to begin filming this March and should stream, as a 6-episode series, on Disney Plus sometime in 2022. It’s unclear at this time what role Calamawy is playing, but the 34 year-old actress fits the profile of a 30-something female lead described as “strong” and “no BS” actress to play an Egyptian character which many fans believe will be a version of Scarlet Fasinera, aka Stained Glass Scarlet.

January 13, 2021
Rosario Dawson Teases Live-Action Sabine Wren for ‘Ahsoka’ Series

Star Wars has quite a bright future ahead of it. Just today, a brand new open-world game was announced as Lucasfilms starts expanding beyond their EA deal. The Mandalorian kicked-off a slew of brand new series for Disney’s newest streaming service after being a key factor in its launch. It all seems to be going well for the service and all eyes are on its future. Among the many announced shows, many are excited to further explore the story of Ashoka Tano. The character was first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. After a mixed reception, she grew into one of the show’s most popular characters.

Just last year, she finally made her live-action debut on The Mandalorian‘s second season. Rosario Dawson took on the character’s role for one episode before it was announced that she would get an entire series focused on her. Now, many wondered how her story would interlink with that of Star Wars Rebels. It seemed like her story picks up where that left off, especially after the mentioning of Thrawn during the episode’s climax. Of course, fans will know this also means we would potentially see the return of Sabine Wren, but it was uncertain if she’d make it to live-acton. Well. Dawson liking a tweet reporting on the possibility may add some credence to it:

https://twitter.com/starwarstuff/status/1349338989891878915?s=19

It makes sense that she would appear in the upcoming live-action show. Ahsoka will focus on her hunting down Thrawn through the galaxy, as he is the only connection she has on the whereabouts of Rebels‘ Ezra Bridger, which was talked bout in Kessel Run Transmissions’ latest exclusive. It seems the original plan was to create an animated sequel to Rebels that would’ve explored his storyline before Jon Favreau convinced Dave Filoni to continue her story in live-action. It seems that the sequel was already well into production, as they were unsure how successful Din Djarin’s adventures in The Mandalorian would turn out at the time. There may still be a chance that these animated sequences are released in some form or another if they already worked on them. Perhaps some of it was reworked as part of the upcoming animated The Bad Batch series so they don’t lose the existing assets. Dawson‘s like of a report on Wren is just the icing on the cake for how this story may unfold.

Source: Twitter, YouTube, ComicBookMovie

January 13, 2021
Vision: The Story So Far

After a year-long hiatus, WandaVision is ready to kick off the MCU’s Phase 4 in a massive way. So, we thought it might be a great time to recap fans on the various big players that will return in the upcoming series. In this article, we’re going to focus on a character that has been a part of the MCU since its conception back in 2008’s Iron Man. What once started as a simple voice-over job turned into something much bigger. So, without further ado, let’s kick off our blast to the past by exploring Vision’s history in the MCU.

Vision was once Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence known as Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. Of course, it was an acronym inspired by his father’s butler, Edwin Jarvis. He ran security at Stark’s home before becoming an essential part of his Iron Man suit. It wasn’t until Avengers: Age of Ultron that he would become the android we know and love. After believing Jarvis got destroyed by his newly created A.I. known as Ultron, Stark found him subconsciously protecting nuclear codes. At the same time, Ultron created an organic body that would become his new vessel. Well, that was until the Avengers got their hand on it and decided to upload J.A.R.V.I.S. into the system. With some help from Thor, Vision is born and greets a new world. He went on to aid the rest of the Avengers in the Battle of Sokovia and got the upper hand above Ultron before joining the team officially.

In Captain America: Civil War, Vision acts more like the voice of reason (and inspirational quotes), convincing the Avengers that registering for the Sokovia Accords is a reasonable and smart decision. Trying to reduce tensions after Wanda lost control in Lagos, Vision was assigned to watch over her at the Avengers headquarters. During that time, the two managed to bond over their powers, the Mind Stone and Paprikash. Eventually, Hawkeye came in to recruit her for Cap’s side, but not without Vision trying to stop them. These events led to Wanda making the choice to temporarily incapacitated Vision and escaping with Clint. The pair met one last time in Germany, where both sides took a stand against each other. During the battle, Vision accidentally injured War Machine while aiming for Falcon.

In Avengers: Infinity War, we find out that Vision had been evolving ever since he eloped with Wanda. During their time in hiding, they fell in love. Suddenly, the Black Order hunts down Vision for his Mind Stone and only managed to survive with some help from Steve Rogers, Black Widow, and Falcon. Their mission now becomes to find a way to safely remove the stone from Vision’s head without killing him. They seek refuge in Wakanda. Scientist and part-time princess Shuri uncovers a way to separate them but can’t finish it in time before the Black Order get in the way. Once Thanos arrives for the stone, he begs Wanda to destroy the stone in a last-ditch effort, as he proclaims he loves her. Sadly, Thanos already had the Time Stone in his possession and brought him back to life. Without mercy, he ripped the stone out of his head and left behind an empty grey husk.

We all believed his story ended, but it seems to have only begun. From the trailers, it looks like Vision and Wanda are living their perfect lives. They are happily married, with kids, living peaceful, quiet lives in a suburban neighborhood. But there are still so many questions that remain from all of this. How is Vision back when he was destroyed during Avengers: Infinity War? Hopefully, all of these questions and more will get answered when we delve into the world of WandaVision this coming January 15th.

January 13, 2021
How the Unusual Marketing of ‘WANDAVISION’ Could Turn Off Potential Viewers

WandaVision’s marketing is a little different than it probably would have been had the show been released at a time when there wasn’t a pandemic going on. But the core stuff – namely, trailers and TV spots – has been rolled out in a pretty typical manner (based on the admittedly few precedents we have from Disney+ headlining shows, at least). We won’t know how well it’s working until the show actually premieres, but there’s a lot to look over in the meantime.

WandaVision was shot mainly on soundstages and it has been said that Marvel Studios is even more invested than usual in preventing spoilers about it from getting out. And that sentiment has carried over to the trailers; unlike most MCU projects, WandaVision’s trailer isn’t really providing any plot details. Fans who have been following the development of the series have been able to understand what’s going on in most of the scenes that have been shown (the sitcom eras changing, S.W.O.R.D. trying to infiltrate, etc.) but for the general public seeing these ads during football or on Facebook, I have to imagine all of this is pretty confusing.

Most of the marketing materials for WandaVision have focused on the changing eras of the sitcom world and songs that evoke feelings of nostalgia for many people but also may add to the sense of unease and mystery when played over some of the clips where things feel a bit…off, which seems to fit the tone of the project perfectly. There’s been a little bit of action and references to other Marvel projects teased, but not much. This has most likely been done not only to avoid spoilers, but also to prepare viewers for the difference in tone and style for much of the series. Those who have already seen the show’s first three episodes have commented that they firmly focus on the sitcom aspect rather than the fast-paced action typical of an MCU project. We’ve been told that’s coming as well, and the trailers have shown a little bit of it, but it’s definitely not something that’s going to be part of every episode.

Marvel has put out a new TV spot or clip reel for WandaVision seemingly every day for the past month or so, but a lot of them are recycled footage of the same few clips. That’s admittedly pretty typical for marketing, but the trouble may come with the mix of showcasing a whole new style without telling viewers much about the story to hook them in. We’ve mostly just been shown bits of footage that show off Wanda and Vision in their outfits through the various decades with the same few vague audio clips.

If this was an Avengers movie they could probably get away with this method no problem because the name alone creates massive hype. But this is a show about two previously side-characters in a style that may be jarring to a lot of Marvel fans. Those who follow Marvel updates know that all of this is going to lead into future projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but a lot of the general audience does not. If they could find a way to hint at this being big for the direction of the MCU while still preparing audiences for a new sort of setting with the sitcom stuff, that would have probably been the ideal way to go about it. But perhaps those on the fence about WandaVision will be more likely to give this series the benefit of the doubt considering there hasn’t been any new MCU content at all in the past year and a half. We’ll see how audiences respond to WandaVision when new episodes stream Fridays on Disney+ starting January 15.

January 12, 2021
Darcy Lewis: The Story So Far

If you have been watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Phase One, chances are you already know Ms. Darcy Lewis. She’s the one that decided to rename one of the most powerful weapons in the world as “Mew-Mew”. Darcy was a pioneer in establishing the concept of an intern having an intern. Oh, did we mention she also helped save the world from a Dark Elves invasion? The young assistant is making her return after seven years in WandaVision, so let’s take a look back at her MCU history.

After studying political science at Culver University, she started working with scientists Jane Foster and Erik Selvig. At the time, she was interning for Selvig and joined them on their trip to New Mexico. The point of their travel was to study several spatial anomalies, which would end up leading them to run over the God of Thunder. To make sure, she also tased him when he started to ramble about the Bifrost and Mjolnir. After running him over a second time, they helped him learn the lesson Odin wanted to pass on to him when he sealed his hammer. After Thor got stranded in Asgard, Darcy supported Jane Foster in her research to find a way to get to see him again.

Years later, Darcy and Jane found themselves researching anomalies once again. This time it was connected to an event only known as the Convergence. To help their work, Darcy went out of her way to hire Ian Boothby as her intern, an intern for an intern if you will. The trio followed the abnormal signals to an abandoned warehouse. There they witnessed the laws of physics going haywire. It also led to the random creation of various portals. Following that, Foster disappeared and got possessed by the Aether, which prompted Thor to return to Earth. Now, after a short visit, the God of Thunder took Jane back to his homeworld to find out how to extract the red substance from her body. Darcy and Ian were left behind on Earth, so they set out to find Dr. Selvig to solve the Convergence issue. The poor doctor, meanwhile, has lost his mind after being possessed by Loki. Eventually, they find him and reunite with Thor and Jane. They returned to Earth after the Dark Elf Malekith tried to destroy the planet in the wake of the Convergence.

Now, we have no idea how exactly she will play into the story. Charles did share some ideas for why she might be returning. In his article, he theorized that she is involved with uncovering what is happening inside Wanda’s sitcom bubble. Her background in researching anomalies alongside Jane Foster, who in the MCU became a serious candidate for the Nobel Prize. She could play a key figure in bringing Vision back. For now, we can only wait until the show finally airs this Friday and finally shows the world what has happened to Wanda and Vision.

January 12, 2021
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Emma Caulfield Joins ‘WandaVision’

WandaVision is so close, we can almost taste it. Friday will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s major return since July 2019’s release of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Yes, the wait has been really long, but Marvel Studios is about to return in style. It will be their first time attempting a television show. They also are looking into expanding the franchise in creative ways, such as the upcoming show forcing our favorite power couple to relive old sitcom shows. With only four more days to go, the news seemed to just get started with a variety of teases during the show’s press junket. Well, it looks like one more casting has been revealed to build up more hype. Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Emma Caulfield took to Twitter to announce that she was cast in the series.

I know things are crazy but I’m happy to share this! #WandaVision @disneyplus @MarvelStudios @ArmadaPartners @Marvel @CreativePRinc #marvelstudios pic.twitter.com/lbo1bQVote

— emmacaulfieldofficial (@emmacaulfield) January 11, 2021

Of course, she doesn’t give away any hints about who exactly she might be playing. Caulfield has been in a variety of projects since her last appearance on Buffy in 2003. She made some appearances in Disney’s Once Upon a Time, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, and even CW’s Supergirl. Of course, many will remember her from her run as Anyanka Jenkins/Emerson from 1998 until 2003 on the Sarah Michelle Gellar-led series. Her addition could be connected to set photos that we saw a while back featuring someone in a blonde wig. So, she may have a bigger role than we think. Right now, anything is possible with the show, so it’ll be interesting to see how all these pieces come together once it starts airing this Friday.

Source: Twitter

January 11, 2021
Latest ‘WandaVision’ Preview Adds to the Show’s Core Mystery

Something interesting is happening on the official WandaVision Instagram account: old posts are changing! Specifically, the first of six nine-image grids uploaded of the different TV sets posted back on December 29, which originally featured an image of Wanda and Vision in the 1950s on the TV set in the middle has had that picture replaced by a video clip from the show’s first episode:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJZLE3Cg8Qr/

The clip shows Vision (in his android form) noticing a heart drawn on a specific calendar date while asking Wanda about it. They believe that whatever the heart signifies could be important, but it’s clear that neither knows what that is (and they can’t admit it to each other). It may mark the couple’s anniversary, even though a previously-released preview showed them discuss that they have none. It could be that one of them noted their anniversary but managed to forget at some point. We also know the two host a dinner party in the first episode, so that could be the event marked by the heart. The wacky antics of forgetting about hosting guests for dinner and scrambling to work things out so none will the wiser certainly fits perfectly with the typical wacky antics of a 1950s sitcom.

It also plays into something that got mentioned in the synopsis of the first episode. There is a chance this will surely be an essential part of the plot as the series moves forward: Wanda and Vision are in this idyllic world, but they can’t recall how they got there or their history within it. Perhaps the heart is connected to the overall mystery of the sitcom world. Something that is also noteworthy about the Instagram setup with the nine-image grid pictures is that today is the Monday of WandaVisions premiere week for which the 1950’s image changed into a video.

There are five other TV grids posted on the account, but only three more days between now and Friday. Only three of the other pictures feature a picture of Wanda and Vision. I think Marvel will publish a 1960s clip on Tuesday, the 1980s will be on Wednesday, and Thursday will round it out with the 2000s before the first two episodes drop on Disney+ Friday. Be sure to check back here at Murphy’s Multiverse for more WandaVision updates as we head closer and closer to its launch!

Source: Instagram

January 11, 2021