The highly-anticipated WandaVision Disney+ series isn’t just a warped take on the classic family sitcom throughout the years nor is it just a “love letter to the golden age of television”, as the show’s head writer Jac Schaeffer described it — it was actually filmed in front of a live studio audience too.
During a recent interview with the ReelBlend podcast, Vision actor Paul Bettany divulged what it was like to film the WandaVision Disney+ series in front of a live studio audience and the practicality behind the procedure.
“It was so much fun, and there was a practical reason for it, which is you’re trying to have exactly the same production values as you would in one of the movies,” Bettany said. “So being able to shoot one episode in two days and really curtail the amount of time you’re spending on those early episodes — and shooting them as they would have been shot in the 1950s, with three-camera setups and through sets that are built on a stage with an audience — you get through it really quickly. And then you’re able to bank that time to shoot the action.”
Bettany’s last comment regarding the show’s action is particularly interesting. Does this mean that the early episodes of the WandaVision Disney+ series will be devoid of action? Or will the sitcom elements be interspersed in flashback form with the action in the present day? Or vice-versa?
The WandaVision Disney+ series will be helmed by the aforementioned head writer, Jac Schaeffer (who worked on Black Widow and Captain Marvel), Mary Livanos as coexecutive producer and Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones, Fargo) as director. The series will take place after Avengers: Endgame and focus on the now married Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision trying to live a peaceful, suburban lifestyle in the quaint town of Westview while simultaneously keeping their powers a secret from the locale’s inhabitants.
WandaVision on Disney+ is set to premiere on January 15th.
