Why WandaVision's Director Didn't Want Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Twin Cameos In Marvel Series

When the first trailer for WandaVision was first shown, many believed that the premise of the series being a sitcom would simply be window-dressing and only last an episode, but WandaVision is truly dedicated to the format. Some would even say that it's too dedicated to it, but WandaVision is clearly meant to be a slow-burn as it reaches its more bombastic conclusion seen in typical MCU movies.

However, Marvel Studios isn't treating WandaVision like a series of parodies of sitcoms, but utilizing the premise to explore the characters. Although it was reported that one episode of Wandavision would have a very “meta” reference to Full House, it isn't an obvious pair of cameos like some fans may expect. In fact, director Matt Shakman never even considered it.

NEWS

Speaking with Variety, Matt Shakman was asked about the '90s-centric episode which would include a nod to Full House.

Shakman was asked how long it took him to realize Elizabeth Olsen's relation to Mary-Kate and Ashley. Due to Shakman's own experience as an actor on shows like The Facts of Life, Good Morning Miss Bliss, and Just the Ten of Us, he knew right away due to him and Olsen being “children of the '80's sitcom world and early '90s:”

“I definitely remembered. Lizzie and I both are children of the ’80s sitcom world and early ’90s; we definitely had that in common and talked about it from time to time. She grew up on that “Full House” set, and I, of course, grew up and many other sets.”

Despite Elizabeth Olsen's relation to two icons of family sitcoms, Shakman never considered asking either of them to cameo in WandaVision. Shakman said that their goal with the series was never to be a “parody or homage or spoof,” but a story about Wanda and Vision:

“For us, we were faithfully recreating the style of the shows with authenticity. It wasn’t about parody or homage or spoof. It really was about telling the story of Wanda and Vision. And so, for that reason, we were focusing on our characters who are the best actors to bring those characters to life, rather than trying to find a way to have Bob Newhart pop by.”

WHAT THIS MEANS

It really is admirable that, despite the twins being handy and an easily exploitable chance to reference some of the most iconic figures of early '90's sitcoms, Shakman never even considered it. It feels like any other studio would have gone for such an easy reference. Still, Shakman is wholly dedicated to WandaVision being a character study of Wanda and how she deals with her trauma, loss, and her past.

WandaVision isn't just a series of cheeky references to various eras of sitcoms, but showing what Wanda considers to be an ideal life through the lens of sitcoms she watched growing up in Sokovia. Shakman previously said that he wanted to add a sense of “fakeness” to WandaVision. To fans who have seen the first two episodes, this isn't to mock sitcoms but to further cement a feeling of dread in the show and Wanda's attachment to something so obviously fake.