'WandaVision' Head Writer Jac Schaeffer Signs Deal With Marvel Studios And 20th Television

Marvel is sticking with Jac Schaeffer.

The WandaVision head writer (Marvel doesn't like to use the term "showrunner") and Black Widow screenwriter just inked a three-year overall TV deal with Marvel Studios and 20th Television. The deal will have Schaeffer developing projects for both Marvel and 20th Television, with the Marvel titles going to Disney+ and 20th Television projects developed for all platforms. More on the Jac Schaeffer Marvel deal below.

Variety is reporting that Jac Schaeffer, head writer of WandaVision, has signed a three-year overall deal to develop projects for Marvel Studios and 20th Television. Schaeffer's other credits include the upcoming Marvel movie Black Widow, the script for the 2019 movie The Hustle, and the script for the Disney short Olaf's Frozen Adventure. She also wrote and directed the 2009 independent film Timer, which starred WandaVision supporting actress Emma Caulfield. WandaVision was very well received, so it's no surprise that Disney wants to keep Schaeffer on the payroll.

When /Film interviewed Schaeffer and asked her what made WandaVision a personal project for her rather than just a gun for hire gig, Schaeffer said: "What makes it personal to me? I love comedy. I love sitcoms. I also love really weird stuff: I love Lost. I love Twilight Zone. I love Amazing Stories. I love Hitchcock. I think that's what's personal to me, the sort of forced cohabitation of these different tones. My early career, it was hard to find my place. A lot of the stuff that I wrote didn't land squarely in any one category, and I think that's what clicked for me about this idea and what kept my energy going throughout the last two years: just how cool all of those things are if you serve them all on the same plate."

In a separate interview, Schaeffer said: "It was very important to me to put authentic women onscreen. I want to see myself and my friends and my sisters and my mom and my aunts. I want to see nuanced portrayals of their exterior and interior lives. For me, personally, this was the first time that I was running a [writers'] room, and it was intimidating to step into a leadership role. But I found myself able to meet the challenge, and I enjoyed it so much. Everyone was very motivated to push the ball forward in terms of representation and visibility of women and people of color. I'm very proud of that. It felt important and necessary."

WandaVision is streaming now on Disney+, and Black Widow will be available in theaters and on Disney+ Premium Access on July 9, 2021.