WandaVision director says it’s ‘terrifying’ to be responsible for Marvel’s first MCU release since 2019

Multiple Marvel projects have suffered delays due to the pandemic

The director of the forthcoming Disney+ series WandaVision has said it is “terrifying” to front the first Marvel Cinematic Universe release since 2019.

Marvel Studios typically releases two or three tentpole films each year, although this year’s offerings – Black Widow and Eternals – were delayed until 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also pushed back until next March as a result of the pandemic, WandaVision will be the first Marvel property to hit screens since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.

The series focuses on the characters of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), who had previously appeared in the Avengers films.

Speaking to SFX Magazine, director Matt Shakman said: “It’s an honour, and it’s terrifying. And it is surreal, like everything else [right now]. The fact that we are the first Marvel MCU property to come out since Endgame, I never could have fathomed that when we first started working on this project.

“But it is a wonderful way to start Marvel's work in the streaming world. A show that is a giant love letter to the history of television is a perfect way for the maker of the biggest blockbusters to come to television.”

Wandavision comes to Disney+ on 15 January 2021.