Wanda Maximoff and Vision are well-known characters in the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU). Following the death of the Avengers in Avengers: Endgame, the expectation to integrate WandaVision, the quirky television series into the wider MCU mythology was high. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), SWORD (Sentient World Observation and Response Division), and the Hex were included, as was Wanda’s ability to intuitively create her own preferred reality.

If you’re not an MCU aficionado and feel the world is too complex to process, fear not. WandVision functions as a standalone TV show while paying homage to the source material thanks to the series creator Jac Schaeffer. She spoke to Creative Screenwriting Magazine about creating this hybrid, textured show which is equally Leave It To Beaver and Avengers VFX-fest.

Schaeffer assumed the audience would have some basic knowledge of the Avengers mythology when she started working on it. “I didn’t create WandaVision in heavy-handed and highly-expositional ways. I gave context to the source material where possible.” Her underlying goal was not to overly cater to the diehard MCU fans. “WandaVision was digestible to audiences new to the story.”

Jac Schaeffer

Jac Schaeffer confessed to not having read every Avengers comic and relied heavily on the executive producer Mary Livanos to fill  gaps in her knowledge of the essential aspects of the story. “She [Mary] knows all and has a strong sense of when to drop nuggets into WandaVision based on what happens in the comics.” It was a continuous and fluid discussion to ensure Schaeffer’s writing duties had fidelity to the source.

The screenwriter was mindful of WandaVision being able to function as a standalone TV series rather than a cog in the MCU machine. “I restricted the show to a specific event in Westview N.J. in which Wanda takes a town hostage in order to create her idyllic suburban life.”

The show was also told non-linearly with cutaways to SWORD to act as anchors to the source. At some point, Vision would disappear and Wanda’s fantasy would have to end. This bookended the show into a self-contained closed story.

A Tale Of Two TV Shows

WandaVision straddles the extremities of storytelling in terms of tone and aesthetics. The first half of the season is largely a fifties comedy inspired by cutesy sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, and I Love Lucy. The second half leans into the darker superhero elements of Avengers. This approach informed the composition of the TV writers’ room – some writers came from comedies, some wrote dramas, and some wrote procedurals and mythical world creation shows to create the required mix. “When we hired Matt Shakman the director, his resume also reflected the diverse profile of the writers. Matt worked on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Game Of Thrones, so he knew the tonal limits we aspired to,” continued the writer.

Schaeffer added that the shifting tones were also represented in the scripts. The sitcom scenes were formatted like Dick Van Dyke scrips and the more cinematic Marvel scenes were written in contemporary screenplay format and italicized to make the tonal adjustments easier to navigate. “We used these two stark formats to communicate to the staff, especially the cast, where we are at any given moment.”

It was a risky creative decision to split WandaVision into two halves – sitcom and superhero film. “The producers were very shrewd to strategically add cutaways of one world to complement the other. We paced out the mystery across both formats as the overarching spine to unite them. We dropped two episodes at once in the middle of the series. We gave the audience a glimpse of where we were heading to keep them interested.” The rollout of the mystery allowed the story to work both as a fully-immersed sitcom and a Twilight Zone of sorts.

Jac Schaeffer fully embraced the bipolar nature of WandaVision. “As I viewer, I want to be entertained and challenged. I want to be surprised, but not get too far ahead in the story. We wanted to give that gift to the viewers.”

Who Is Wanda Maximoff?

Wanda, The Scarlet Witch, has the power of creating her world from the comics. “We know Wanda has telepathic and telekinetic powers, she can create energy blasts and fly. The majority of her power displays to date have been reactionary – tied to moments of anger, panic or fear. Wanda hasn’t had the opportunity to cultivate any of it to serve her internal needs.” This is where WandaVision shines by substantially mining Wanda’s character.

Wanda’s use of Chaos Magic and the ability to create the Vision Hex are born from her subconscious mind, so she’s not always aware of them, nor can she always control them. “The journey of the series allows her to understand what she did, how she did it, and why?” Paradoxically, Wanda became a student of her own capabilities like many emerging superheroes finding their place.

Born from the traumatic ashes of the Avengers, Wanda has created an impossibly happy world. “She’s compartmentalizing her loss. Westview is an exterior manifestation of an antidote to her inner grief. She creates a person [Vision] whom she loves unconditionally in a safe and predictable environment where there will be no intrusion, abandonment, or destruction.” 

The exaggerated, near perfect sitcom world of the fifties is “Wanda’s only window into stability, security, companionship and uninterrupted love. Creating a sitcom world provides her with the things lacking from her actual life. “Unfortunately she does it in a way that is destructive and untenable.”

A moment of realization occurs when her fabricated world begins crumbling when the family dog Sparky dies and she won’t bring him back to life. It’s time to let go and face reality.

WandaVision traverses several decades to co-incide with Wanda’s major life events. “We lined up the start of each decade with Wanda’s emotional state. When things get too intense, we end the episode and Wanda advances to the next era,” added Schaeffer, because escape is easier than dealing with issues.

The fifties and sixties represent Wanda’s denial phase. “Everything is kept very contained, joyous, and sunny. It is not a time to freely express emotions.” Don’t forget to smile. The biggest problem Wanda’s life is when Vision’s boss and his wife come to dinner and Wanda burns the roast.

Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen)

“Things get a little looser and groovier in the seventies.” Hair got bigger and workouts got sweatier in the eighties and nineties. “By the time we hit Modern Family in the noughties, Wanda gives birth to twins Billy and Tommy and she hits a depression phase. She even experiences marital strife with Vision when ‘they are not always on the same page.‘”

WandaVision slides from black and white to lucid modern-day color TV. “We tied the introduction of color to Wanda’s pregnancy. She was manifesting joy in the Hex.” Becoming a soccer mom was a discovery for Wanda because she can’t always control her own power of creation.

Commercial Break

Each episode of WandaVision contains a commercial break representative of the era. A writer was assigned to one for each episode. “The further back we looked inside the advertising industry, the more sexist it was, with strict adherence to traditional gender roles. We wanted the commercials targeted to Wanda’s backstory, trauma and subconscious mind.”

Wanda chose to live in this world which isn’t entirely comfortable for her. “No woman would feel entirely happy if they existed in a fifties sitcom.” All Wanda wants is an idyllic suburban lifestyle in Westview and reach her destiny as the Scarlet Witch.

As a main character, Wanda can be perceived as both a hero and villain as her morality and perceptions change. “The people of Westview see her as a villain, Vision and her kids (initially) see her as a hero but question her motives later on, and Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) wants Wanda to be a villain, but knows she’s really a hero inside,” said Jac.

Despite wiping Vision’s memory and refusing to discuss his origins, Wanda always wanted to protect him. “She was in denial over what happened. She wanted them to forget together. Vision’s past was unimportant. She wanted them both to be free and unburdened from the trauma of his death.” When Wanda’s world begins imploding, Vision felt scared and vulnerable. Vision is a sensitive android grappling with his love for Wanda and sense that something is awry. Finally, after reality bites, Wanda releases Vision. “She accepts that the Vision in her world is not her soul mate. He’s a product of her powers.”

The writers spent considerable time spitballing outlandish ideas and entertaining each other in the TV writers’ room. “That’s where the best ideas came from.” It was a non-conventional room in that it was run like a feature room rather than a television one.

Jac Schaeffer has emerged a better writer after the WandaVision experience. “Prior to this, I thought writing was an individual sport. I discovered the delight of writing as a team sport. It was a collaborative environment where you could have full discussions of all the ideas and characterizations. I don’t know if I could go back to writing alone. Creating a TV show is an incredible synthesis of leadership and writing.“