WandaVision star Teyonah Parris spoke out on her Marvel debut as Monica Rameau in the Disney+ series. Now, fans have known that the actress would be playing the character for a while, but this is one of the first times that she’s been on the record talking about it. She chatted with Kelley Carter over at The Undefeated about WandaVision and how she came to be an actor. Her story of pursuing theater is inspiring and Parris highlighted that her experiences in college largely steered her toward wanting to be a part of the MCU one day. With things opening up heading into Phase 4, there was space for Rameau to enter and Parris jumped right through that portal and never looked back.
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“This has been a childhood dream. To be a Marvel superhero. I can even remember, I’ve always said that, ‘I want to be a superhero.’ Then, when the MCU opened up, I think I was in college. It was like I want to be a Marvel superhero,” she revealed. “I went to see Iron Man, and seeing women in those movies kick a**. I watched those movies and said, ‘I want to do that.’”
Parris added, “I didn’t know how or why because Black women are not afforded that opportunity. Most of the women I was watching weren’t Black. I was like sure, whatever that’s not going to happen. And then it happened. When I tell you that it wasn’t on my radar at that moment…I’m so happy to be a part of this universe. And to be Monica Rambeau, she’s such a badass in the comics. I just can’t believe that this is happening. This is full-on action movie, mixed with sitcoms, it’s wild. It’s wild. I think people will be very excited.”
For the readers who might not be familiar with how Rameau factors into WandaVision, Comcibook.com’s Jamie Lovett wrote a handy guide to get you up to speed!
“In Captain Marvel, Akira Akbar played Monica as a child in the 1990s. WandaVision finds Parris playing Monica as an adult who somehow becomes involved in the strange happenings around Scarlet Witch and Vision,” he explained. “In the universe of the comics, Monica is bestowed with energy powers and becomes the new Captain Marvel, taking the name decades (in real-time) before Carol Danvers’ eventual transition into the role. Some wonder if the events of WandaVision could give her those powers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, setting up a role in Captain Marvel 2.”
Do you think that she’ll be the focus of Captain Marvel 2? Let us know in the comments!
