WandaVision Director Reveals Extra Episode Got Cut

It’s no secret that the unusual nature of WandaVision is what makes the show stand apart from the rest of the projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The franchise is best known for taking bold risks, and the Elizabeth Olsen-led series is clearly the epitome of that.

WandaVision initially started off as a sitcom, catching viewers off-guard on what was really happening while also serving as a primer for bigger mysteries down the line. On top of that, the Disney+ series also assembled a unique set of characters to show the interconnected threads of the MCU. 

However, similar to the rest of the Phase 4 entries, WandaVision was affected by the ongoing pandemic. A new piece of information has emerged on how the health crisis derailed the original plan for the series. 

WANDAVISION WAS ORIGINALLY 10 EPISODES LONG 

WandaVision director Matt Shakman recently spoke with Kevin Smith to discuss the already-finished MCU series, and one of the topics that was touched upon was its original episode count. 

Via Murphy's Multiverse, Shakman revealed that “things were constantly changing and getting rebroken” during the course of the production of the show while also confirming that there were “10 episodes planned” at one point during development: 

“Well, yeah, things were constantly changing and getting rebroken. The story was changing, especially a lot of the real-world stuff and the finale. There was a lot of experimentation going on and sort of trying different things out. We also at one point had 10 episodes planned and we ended up collapsing a couple, you know, just to make the rhythm feel a little bit better.”

The MCU director also unveiled how the pandemic essentially created “further changes” to WandaVision: 

“But yeah, they constantly changed and then of course, once we wrapped in Atlanta, the pandemic hit and we ended up having months off. So then, further changes during that, we were doing post-production and then ideas would come up and little changes would happen as a result."

WANDAVISION FINALE LEFT MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS 

The pandemic clearly had a huge impact on the entertainment industry, and Marvel Studios is no stranger to that. Given the current debacle on whether Black Widow will be released in theaters or not this May, this latest interview confirmed that WandaVision also suffered a partial overhaul due to the current global situation. 

At one point, the tease of a potential tenth episode for WandaVision made headlines while the show was streaming on Disney+, mainly due to several pieces of evidence combined with fan-driven theories about the matter. However, this tidbit was debunked by the show's director, Matt Shakman, but this recent quote from him essentially confirmed that a 10-episode slate was originally the plan. 

WandaVision also experienced production delays and health protocol-infused production along the way. Shakman's acknowledgment that “further changes” happened during the surprise break may very well hint that there were potential surprises that could've made it to the final cut, but were scrapped instead. On top of that, this could also be the result of the reshuffling of the MCU's Phase 4 slate, considering that WandaVision was originally placed after Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Whatever the case, many would agree that a tenth episode for WandaVision could've been a welcome development due to the fact that the finale left more questions than answers. The bonus chapter could've benefited other subplots such as SWORD and the resolution behind Evan Peters' Pietro Maximoff. 

Regardless, even without the extra installment, the series managed to wrap up one core element in a compelling manner: Wanda's grief. This should serve as an effective wrap-up for WandaVision in general.