From Jon Favreau and Joe Johnston to the Russo Brothers and Taika Waititi, every Marvel director has managed to leave their own unique footprint on their respective entries in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. This Friday, a new director enters that exclusive club as Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) debuts the hotly-awaited WandaVision.
The series stars MCU veterans Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in the title roles as the Scarlet Witch and the Vision, as they embark on the first chapter of Phase 4, which is thoroughly unlike anything that's ever come before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
During our interview with the ace director, he spoke at length about the amount of support and creative control he was granted from Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios from Day 1, and how that ultimately gave him the freedom to make the series entirely his own.
"I'm a huge fan of Marvel, so the chance to work with Kevin and everyone at Marvel Studios is something I've been wanting to do for years. I've been there every opening day for every MCU movie since Iron Man and I was a longtime comic fan and superhero nerd going way, way back, so this was a huge opportunity.
But, WandaVision bizarrely kind of fits into my experience both as a filmmaker and my own personal history because I was a sitcom actor going all the way back, starting at age 4 doing sitcoms and commercials and stuff. I grew up on backlots and sound stages, so that whole part of my life felt like it led to this in a bizarre way and then I also enjoy doing comedy as well as large-scale action, like Game of Thrones, like Sunny, so this one particular show managed to encapsulate all of the different things that I love to do in a totally bizarre way that has never happened before and will never happen again."
With Wanda expected to play a big role in Phase 4 and beyond, Shakman confirmed conversations with both the Russo Brothers, who handled the character last, and Sam Raimi, who will tackle her next in Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, as well as a number of fellow Marvel filmmakers including Spider-Man 3 helmer Jon Watts.
"Marvel is an incredibly collaborative place, and you asked earlier about, 'Can you put your own stamp on it?' and you absolutely can and that's one of the great things. There's so much freedom as a filmmaker, but, at the same time, there's also tremendous support from everyone. Kevin Feige and his team are all working relentlessly to make this thing the best thing it can possibly be and that support is amazing, the guidance and wisdom we've had along the way from Kevin and his team have been amazing and that is part of the secret sauce that makes it work.
Yeah, conversations with other filmmakers about how stories will continue or continuing stories that have happened or been introduced already has been part of my experience for sure."
Check out our full video interview - which contains potential minor SPOILERS - with director Matt Shakman below!
Welcome to WandaVision. Coming soon to Disney+. Marvel Studios' captivating new series "WandaVision" stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and marks the first series from Marvel Studios streaming exclusively on Disney+. The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
WandaVision premieres on January 15, exclusively on Disney+