WandaVision is heading to a screen near you in the new year, and there is a lot to be excited for when it comes to the much-anticipated Marvel TV show. If you have checked out the trailer along with millions of others, then you already know that the ambitious series will be flirting with some romantic vibes, and will also tap into various eras of TV sitcom aesthetics. It now appears WandaVision will also pay homage to The Office and other more modern comedies. How, you ask?
It is an understandable question since few would have thought that the upcoming Marvel series would have anything in common with one of everybody's favorite quarantine shows. Thankfully, the MCU’s head honcho Kevin Feige has provided some insight on how Wanda and Vision's TV debut will give off Pam and Jim vibes on top of referencing black-and-white TV classics. On how WandaVision will reference The Office, Feige told Empire:
We go up to the Modern Family and The Office style. The talk-to-the-camera, shaky-camera, documentary style.
This makes a lot of sense from a visual standpoint, as WandaVision has not been shy in displaying its sitcom influences. Marvel even reached out to comedy legend Dick Van Dyke for insight into how to get things just right. WandaVision is not only planning to razzle-dazzle with throwbacks to Van Dyke’s self-titled sitcom and I Love Lucy, but it will also honorably ape more recent TV comedies like The Office and Modern Family, since both of those utilized the mock-documentary format with aplomb.
The format served those shows quote well, too. The Office lasted for nine seasons, while Modern Family went out with Season 11 earlier this year. It sounds as though WandaVision will eventually make it to and through the era of both comedies during its run. The thing that massively sets the Steve Carell starrer apart from The Dick Van Dyke Show and others of that era is it is a single-camera sitcom as opposed to a multi-camera, with the latter usually being filmed in front of an audience.
Speaking of, WandaVision did indeed invoke that approach and was also shot in front of a live audience, which should mean lots of in-person laughs during those early episodes. Filming the MCU series in that way reminded Elizabeth Olsen of her sisters starring in Full House back in the day.
All told, it will be interesting to learn how WandaVision utilizes The Office’s “confessionals” for its main characters. You have to imagine it will be pretty fun and humorous to watch the characters share their thoughts and feelings in such a candid way that isn't at all like most superhero fiction. There was no live audience for The Office, and if WandaVision’s trip down sitcom memory lane progresses in real-time, its Office-themed installments should come closer to the end. It will be interesting to learn what WandaVision does for the rich concept.
The creative possibilities are pretty endless, and there is a good reason to think the concept will get properly leveraged. After all, Paul Bettany has called the decision to bring WandaVision to TV a “really smart” one. Fans will get to see it in action, albeit not as soon as they may have hoped after Disney+ announced a later-than-expected release date. WandaVision will premiere on Disney+ during 2021’s winter/spring schedule.
