Kevin Feige Hopes 'WandaVision' Will Expand The Definition Of What A Marvel Studios Project Can Be

Though Black Widow was originally intended to kick off the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the coronavirus pandemic has made it so that the first Marvel Studios series on Disney+ ushers in the next era of comic book storytelling. That series is WandaVision, and if the early buzz is any indicator, it's a series that will be unlike anything we've seen in the MCU, and that's what Marvel boss Kevin Feige is striving for with their upcoming slate of new movies and TV shows.

In conjunction with the upcoming release of WandaVision this week on Disney+, /Film was given the opportunity to speak with Kevin Feige. The conversation turned to the "happy accident" that WandaVision is the first Marvel Studios show on Disney+ (it was originally supposed to be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, now coming in March), and it just so happens to be a series that plays with the medium of television. Feige explained:

"I think the happy accident part is...[that] Marvel Studios' first foray into long form narrative storytelling TV is an homage to TV, [and] is something that could not have been done as a movie. It only works in this medium. So that was great."

However, WandaVision also signals what's in store for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well, not just in television form, but in the movies as well. Feige continued:

"I think, as I hope, all of the shows we're doing currently for Disney+, and all the movies we've ever made, try to showcase an advancement and a progression in storytelling, to the types of stories that we can tell with these characters in Marvel Studios. A black and white, 4x3 aspect ratio sitcom is the boldest, sort of most obvious version of the different tone. But all of the shows we're working on, and the many movies we're making now, I think are all exploring different styles and genre. And I want to keep expanding what the definition of a Marvel Studios show or movie is, and can be."

From Loki appearing to be a time traveling crime thriller to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness digging into the horror genre with director Sam Raimi, it sounds like the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be playing with genre in a way that previous installments of the MCU haven't before. Does that mean we'll see more distinct styles from the filmmakers taking the helm of these projects? We certainly hope so, and we can't wait to see what that looks like.

WandaVision arrives with a two-episode premiere on Disney+ on January 15, 2021.