Marvel’s Wandavision Director: Aerospace Engineer Mention Never Intended to Tease the Fantastic Four

WandaVision director Matt Shakman says there was “never an intention” to suggest Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four was the aerospace engineer in contact with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). After Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) expels her from the Westview anomaly emitting cosmic microwave background radiation, Monica works with astrophysicist Dr. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) to devise a way back inside the “Hex.” Monica theorizes she needs specialized equipment to safely re-enter Westview — a “10,000-pound fallout shelter comprised of lead for photons, cadmium for neutrons, tantalum for seismic blasts, on wheels,” specifically — and tells Darcy, “I know an aerospace engineer who’d be up for this challenge.”

Monica shoots a text to her unnamed contact in Episode 5, and by Episode 6, she tells Darcy and Jimmy her way back into the Hex will “be here in an hour. Just gotta meet my guy over the ridge.” When Monica meets up with USAF Major Goodner (Rachael Thompson) in Episode 7, she’s equipped with a highly-specialized S.W.O.R.D. Space Rover that fails to penetrate the Hex — causing Monica to force her way inside, endowing her with a spectrum of superpowers she’ll use once again in Captain Marvel 2.

“Some of those Easter eggs are absolutely intentional. And then some things, like just trying to clarify what was Monica’s plan with regards to the Hex [were not],” Shakman said on Fatman Beyond. “We did reshoot a little thing there, changed some dialogue, added the aerospace engineer which was never an intention on our side to set up the Fantastic Four (laughs).”

Fan theories are “charming and wonderful,” Shakman said, “but we’re building to this rover set piece, which I have worked my butt off on for well over a year creating this rover. And all of a sudden, everybody wants to know who’s going to meet her there, and I know it’s going to be this wonderful actress who’s playing Major Goodner, and it’s not going to be Reed Richards.”

“I want people to be invested in what is the origin story of a different character that Monica Rambeau is becoming, and instead we’re being distracted by someone else,” he added. “So yeah, the director-producer in me is like, ‘Oh, don’t run with that one!’ Because I didn’t want the focus to shift from what was important, which is the story of Monica traveling through that Hex.”

In December, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced Marvel Studios will reboot Fantastic Four with Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts. The studio has not yet announced any cast members for the reboot bringing Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

All episodes of WandaVision are now streaming. Watch WandaVision on Disney+.

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