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Marvel Studios didn’t intend for WandaVision to launch the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But coronavirus delays at theaters and on film sets made it so. Still, unlike the Black Widow movie or the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show, both centered on humans without mystical powers—though they do have some impressive martial arts moves—WandaVision gives us a glimpse at the weirder places the MCU is headed: the magical realm and space.
At the end of WandaVision, Wanda discovers that she is the Scarlet Witch, a fabled sorceress with immense powers. Doctor Strange and his friends used to be the only characters in the MCU realm dabbling in the mystical arts. WandaVision suggests the world of magic may be larger than it previously appeared.
Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau gained superpowers from Wanda’s Hex, and decides at the end of the show that she will be heading into space next, likely to meet up with her Aunt Carol, a.k.a. Captain Marvel.
Both characters’ next chapters suggest that the MCU is about to get a little less grounded and a little more otherworldly. Here’s where the future movies and TV shows are headed.
Wanda will be in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness
Marvel has long teased that the events of WandaVision would dovetail directly into the feature film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Elizabeth Olsen is set to appear in the movie.
That’s likely where we’ll next encounter Wanda in the MCU. The final episode of WandaVision makes several nods towards Doctor Strange’s world of Sorcerers. The villain Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) produces “the Book of the Damned” to show Wanda, and it looks an awful lot like the tomes kept in the Sanctum Sanctorum, where Doctor Strange lives. Agatha even name drops Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), telling Wanda that she is “even more powerful” than the Sorcerer Supreme himself.
In a post-credits scene we see Wanda poring over the Book of the Damned and practicing her magic in the sort of hyper-lapse way that Doctor Strange often does. If there’s someone who can teach Wanda more about her powers, it’s probably Strange.
Few details have emerged about the next Doctor Strange movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, except that Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is helming the film. The first Doctor Strange movie ended with Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) determining that there were too many wizards in the world and he needed to steal back magic from the undeserving. No doubt, Wanda’s immense powers would attract his attention.
The Multiverse of Madness title also suggests that Wanda and Strange will enter parallel universes. They likely won’t be the first to do so. Doctor Strange is set to appear in this year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. That movie has cast Spider-Man characters from past iterations of the character, like Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock from the Tobey Maguire movies and Jamie Foxx’s Electro from the Andrew Garfield movies, and fans are speculating that Tom Holland’s Spidey will travel to parallel universes to fight those villains and maybe even meet up with Maguire’s and Garfield’s Spideys along the way.
That opens up the possibility of Doctor Strange and Wanda exploring parallel universes too, and perhaps even offers an opening for the X-Men to enter the MCU. (More on that later.)
Monica is a superhero now
Young Monica Rambeau dreamed about glowing like her mom’s best friend Carol in Captain Marvel. Now she can. Wanda’s Hex imbued Monica (Teyonah Parris) with powers—unlike other characters, she moved through the border of the Hex three times. What, exactly, her powers are remains a bit unclear. In the comics, Monica has operated as a superhero under the names Spectrum and Photon.
In the final episode, one of the shape-shifting Skrull aliens introduced in the first Captain Marvel movie approaches Monica and tells her that an “old friend” of Captain Marvel’s would like to have a word with her. When Monica asks where this friend is, the Skrull points upwards. Likely, the alien is referring to Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Captain Marvel’s enemy-turned-ally in that movie.
Talos was last seen impersonating Samuel L. Jackson’s Agent Fury on earth in Spider-Man: Far From Home, while Fury worked to build a space station to deter extraterrestrial threats. The two are set to appear together in another Marvel TV show, Secret Invasion, which doesn’t yet have a release date. It’s unclear whether Monica will appear in that show. She is confirmed to appear in Captain Marvel 2.
White Vision will likely return
This isn’t the last we’ll see of Vision—or some version of him. The version of Vision (Paul Bettany) that Wanda created in the Hex was powered by the energy Wanda herself derived from the Infinity Stone when she was experimented upon years ago. But that means Vision’s life—and that of her kids—were directly tied to the Hex. When Wanda destroys the Hex and says goodbye to Vision in the finale episode, Vision points out the two have said goodbye before and “it stands to reason” they will see one another again.
Though Wanda doesn’t yet know it, the Hex version of Vision is likely thinking of White Vision. Acting SWORD director Hayward (Josh Stamberg) rebuilt Vision (curiously without color) but wasn’t able to turn him on until he infused some of Wanda’s Hex powers into the android. White Vision had no memories of the past, only a directive to kill Wanda and Hex Vision.
During their fight, Hex Vision gifts his recollections of his life—joining the Avengers, falling in love with Wanda and dying at the hands of Thanos—to White Vision. White Vision flies off. We don’t know where he went, but now that he knows about his past with Wanda he will likely seek her out.
Wanda and Vision’s twins may return
Along with Vision, Tommy and Billy disappeared with Wanda’s Hex. Still, it’s possible—even probable—that Tommy and Billy will become Young Avengers. In the comics, the Young Avengers are a group of super-powered teams who operate on a slightly lower key than their grown-up counterparts. Marvel has begun putting the pieces together for such a supergroup.
In addition to Tommy and Billy, we’ve already met Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie Lang who aspires to be a superhero herself. Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, are each getting their own TV show on Disney+. Kate Bishop, Hawkeye’s protege, is set to star in the Hawkeye series. Teen hero America Chavez will be a character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The X-Men may be coming
Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, and thus the rights to use the X-Men characters in MCU movies, fans have been waiting for Magneto, Wolverine and others to pop up in these movies and shows. Fans got a teaser in WandaVision with Fake Pietro. Both Disney and Fox owned the rights to the character Quicksilver, who has been in both the X-Men and Avengers comics. Each created their own version of the character for the screen: The Fox version was played by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the Disney version, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson, was introduced as Wanda’s twin in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
But when Pietro “returns” to Wanda in WandaVision, he’s played by Peters, not Johnson. As Darcy puts it, “She recast Pietro.” Many fans thought this would be the means through which Disney would introduce the X-Men to the MCU—that Pietro would have been plucked from a parallel universe where the Fox version of the X-Men exist.
But alas it was just feint. In the final episode, Fake Pietro is revealed to be just some bro-y slacker living in the town of Westview whom Agatha controlled using a magical necklace. Still, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has long said that mutants will make their MCU debut. Fans may just have to wait a few more years.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier and 11 other MCU shows
Disney+ has planned 12 more Marvel series set to debut on the streaming service in the coming years, beginning with the Captain America spinoff Falcon and the Winter Soldier starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. It debuts two weeks after Wandavision wraps up. The Loki series starring Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson premieres in June, followed by What If?, the MCU’s first animated series with voice work from all the stars from the live-action movies.
Next comes Ms. Marvel, the origin story of Kamala Khan that will tie into Captain America 2. Then Hailee Steinfeld makes her debut as Kate Bishop, Clint Barton’s protege, in Hawkeye. Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke will star in Moon Knight. Tatiana Maslany has signed on to play the lead in She-Hulk. The Guardians of the Galaxy will return in a holiday special before Guardians of the Galaxy 3 heads to theaters in 2023.
Jackson’s Nick Fury and Mendelsohn’s Talso are getting starring in Secret Invasion. And Iron Man is getting two spinoffs: Ironheart centered on teen genius Riri Williams and Armor Wars starring Don Cheadle. And finally, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is producing a show based in Wakanda.
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