Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch has always had the potential to become a famous Marvel character. She was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but it took until WandaVision for the character to find that level of popularity among the masses.
The Disney+ show that ushered in Phase 4 of the MCU was lauded for its homages to various popular sitcoms over the decades. Director Matt Shakman and showrunner Jac Schaeffer have mentioned the various projects they were inspired by. One of them was a cult-classic Jim Carrey film.
Did The Truman Show Inspire Elizabeth Olsen’s WandaVision?
Ever since WandaVision premiered on Disney+, MCU fans were certain that the show was inspired by The Truman Show among other projects. After all, in the film, Jim Carrey’s character is surrounded by actors and is the only know who doesn’t know what’s going on. While sort of the opposite ended up happening in WandaVision, it’s clear that the show followed the template of the $264 million grossing film.
Vulture reported that showrunner Jac Schaeffer had indeed incorporated that movie in the Elizabeth Olsen-led show. She said:
“Schaeffer’s work on WandaVision enabled her to incorporate some of her own favorite pop-cultural influences, including shows such as Lost, The Twilight Zone, and Amazing Stories and movies like Pleasantville, The Truman Show, Annihilation.”
WandaVision was obviously a hit with audiences as it invited people to speculate about what was going to happen next like no other. The show was also critically acclaimed and took home three Creative Arts Emmys. One for the music, the second for the costumes, and the third for the production design. Also, apart from The Truman Show, director Matt Shakman referenced other projects in the show as well, especially The Dick Van Dyke Show.
How Did The Dick Van Dyke Show Inspire WandaVision?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, WandaVision director Matt Shakman revealed how he was influenced by The Dick Van Dyke Show. He said:
“We wanted to see if we could borrow any of that magic for ourselves and figure out how to approach balancing what I think is a timeless show, the way Dick Van Dyke is. You really feel for that couple; you believe in Rob [Dick Van Dyke] and Laura [Mary Tyler Moore]. And yet, there’s room for it to be incredibly wacky.”
He further clarified that he wanted to bring in the elements of the old show in WandaVision while still keeping the Elizabeth Olsen-led show true to itself. The director said:
“It was about how do you create room for both of those things because we wanted that for Wanda and Vision. This was a love story that people were rooting for, but also had room for a lot of wackiness.”
It clearly worked because WandaVision was a hit with audiences in a way that the MCU is still chasing with its new shows.
WandaVision is on Disney+.
