Matt Shakman Reveals Which Marvel Comics Inspired WandaVision

As with most stories set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios is adapting elements from popular comic books while also adding in original elements for the live-action format with WandaVision. The Disney+ series has clear shades of Steve Englehearts The Vision and Scarlet Witch run from 1985, the more recent comic event known as House of M, and Tom King's The Vision book. According to WandaVision director Matt Shakman, all of these books played parts in the inspiration for WandaVision, with several other Marvel Comics books factoring in, as well.

"All of them and ones you didn't mention," Shakman said in an interview with ComicBook.com, seen in the video above. "You know, I mean, I think the thing that's so great about the MCU is they are building on everything that's come before and making something wholly new and original. And much like each one of those comics that you held up there. Those artists and writers took what had come before and fashioned something new, you know. And that's what we're trying to do."

In the first couple of episodes, WandaVision will put its spin on a key element from the Englehart books when the title characters take on the roles of Glamor and Illusion, if only for a moment, referencing characters who live under a guise with those names in the 1985 comics.

"It was an absolute joy to film. It took days and days," Shakman said, describing a magic show sequence. "I think Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen are brilliant in it. And I think Paul Bettany does a brilliant job channeling his inner Dudley Moore brilliantly. It was one of our most complicated sections to film, especially because these shows when we were in the fifties and sixties we were referencing Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie and we wanted to use technology that was appropriate to the time whenever possible. So, wires and things on rods and the old fashioned way as much as possible because there's just a charm to that. And I think it's part of our goal of being authentic to these reference points that we have. But I think it also just, it adds just to its own kind of magic. Especially in contrast to the full MCU stuff that is also in the show."

Are you excited for WandaVision? Which comics do you hope to see brought to life in the Disney+ series? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram! For more WandaVision updates, including ComicBook.com's full interview with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, tune into the Phase Zero podcast which launches this Friday!

WandaVision premieres its first two episodes on Disney+ this Friday. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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