Why WandaVision and Loki could herald a new dawn for the MCU
Marvel is going in weirder - and possibly better - directions as it continues through Phase 4.
By: Christopher Connor
It is now –remarkably – 13 years since Tony Stark built a suit of armour to escape his captives, kick-starting the global phenomenon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). More recently, following the launch of Disney Plus in late 2019 the MCU has found itself transitioning to the small screen with the arrival of its first two series WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in the first half of this year.
Now, the hotly anticipated Loki series is about to arrive, finally making Tom Hiddleston’s God Of Mischief the centre of attention after a decade of supporting appearances – and for Marvel, it could change everything.
Generally speaking the Disney Plus series have allowed the franchise to move away from the formula of the films, and with many of the characters well-established, origin stories can be skipped and the stories can be more unorthodox in their approach.
WandaVision took full advantage of its longer TV runtime to forward Wanda Maximoff’s storyline as an ode to classic US Sitcoms and to flesh out the world of its characters, giving supporting characters like Agent Jimmy Woo and Kat Denning’s Darcy an opportunity to feel more fully formed than they had in their prior film appearances. WandaVision also gave Monica Rambeau a starring role, whetting fans' appetites for her future appearances in the MCU including the sequel to Captain Marvel, The Marvels.
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Loki seems likely to prove a similar deviation from familiar Marvel storytelling for a number of reasons – and not only because it apparently takes place in an alternate reality following the time travelling escapades of Avengers Endgame. From what we've seen of the series, it looks set to jump around different worlds and possibilities every episode, moving away from the "extended movie" feel of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Perhaps more importantly the series also appears to be more of a thriller and so will likely be tonally distinct from much of the wider franchise.
And Marvel's shift towards more ambitious storytelling isn’t isolated solely to the Disney Plus series. With the franchise no longer constrained by the overarching threat of Thanos, it's more free to flex muscles both within the realm of storytelling and the areas of character and setting, pushing the series in directions we haven’t seen to date. Two films planned this year – Chloe Zhao’s Eternals and Destin Daniel Cretton's Shang-Chi – both look set to embrace cultures and worlds that have not had much attention to date. Similarly, the upcoming sequel to Black Panther, Wakanda Forever and a recently-announced series focusing on Wakanda (apparently starring Danai Gurira) will help to broaden the appeal of the franchise further and tap into what made the first Black Panther film such a huge hit.
Also this year, Spider-Man: No Way Home seems set to be the MCU’s take on the Spider-Verse following the huge success of the 2018 animated film, with confirmed appearances from past villains like Jamie Foxx’s Electro and Alfred Molina’s Doc Oc and rumours abounding we might see Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as the web-slingers once more (alongside other villains and characters heavily rumoured including Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil). The slew of additional characters in this film will help the third of Tom Holland’s main films as Spider-Man feel far broader than its predecessors, while also opening up the MCU to wider possibilities in general...we think. Unless we really have got the wrong end of the stick with regards to the multiverse's role in that movie.
Still, it does seem sure that both Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness and Thor: Love And Thunder will be be far more radical than previous offerings with these characters, pushing the characters in new directions – for example, Doctor Strange is supposed to continue Wanda’s story while opening up the endless possibilities presented by the multiverse, which the first film hinted at.
Meanwhile, Thor: Love And Thunder will feature The Guardians Of The Galaxy in some capacity while making Jane Foster an additional Thor, adding new twists to the formula. Additionally Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania will dive more into The Quantum Realm, explored briefly in both the prior Ant Man films. This film will also introduce the iconic villain Kang The Conquerer, a regular villain of the Avengers in the comics and a time traveller.
Overall, it seems that the future is far from predictable in the MCU, with a host of new characters set to be introduced across both the upcoming Disney Plus series and previously supporting characters like Falcon, Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch given more of a chance to shine. Many upcoming projects within Phase 4 and beyond seem set to push the franchise in bold new directions both from a storytelling perspective and in terms of diversifying the universe, massively expanding its scope and potential, showing off many sides to the franchise we haven’t seen to date.
Further ahead, as we begin to encounter the likes of the Fantastic 4 and the X Men the scale of the universe can reach the untapped heights of the comic books, not reached to date. Even with what Marvel have achieved already, it'll certainly make for an intriguing and radically different viewing experience for viewers.
Hard to believe it all started in a cave, with a box of scraps.
Loki comes to Disney Plus on Wednesday 9th June, with new episodes every Wednesday thereafter. Want something else to watch? Visit our Sci-Fi and Fantasy pages or our full TV Guide.
