Marvel has already begun production on two of their upcoming Disney+ series. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier will be the first MCU exclusive Disney+ series to arrive next year (possibly in August), so it makes sense for Marvel to be shooting the series. But apparently, they’ve begun production on WandaVision as well, and the show will arrive around March in 2021. And a bunch of new set photos have been revealed by JustJared.com. These photos have given us our first look at Teyonah Parris as the older version of Monica Rambeau, and they also confirm the involvement of SWORD. Take a look:
SHIELD used to be a prominent part of the MCU, but as the extraterrestrial threats have become even bigger, things are shifting to SWORD. Spider-Man: Far From Home showed us the possible introduction of SWORD as Nick Fury was teased as the Man on the Wall. But now the set photos of WandaVision have revealed the active role that SWORD will take in the future of the MCU.
For those uninitiated, SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department. In the comics, the regular cosmic threats upon Earth lead SHIELD to create a new sister branch called SWORD. It is led by a character named Abigail Brand, and even Captain Marvel is a member of her team. The thing behind SWORD being in the MCU is that it is actually one of the first contributions of the Disney Fox deal. SWORD & its characters were originally owned by Fox, and the Space Station shown in Spider-Man: Far From Home could have been added after the deal.
With Thanos attacking Earth, we understand why SWORD has come into play within the MCU. And, we assume that Earth will have a much larger galactic future & SWORD will act as the Homeland Security in space. It seems that Monica Rambeau will start as a member of SWORD. Her story arc seems quite understandable here as young Monica was inspired by Captain Marvel, and now that she is older, she’s devoting herself into protecting Earth from Aliens, just like her idol, Carol Danvers. It’d be interesting to see how she will get her powers in the MCU (or does she already have them?), but that set up will possibly happen in WandaVision itself.
Now Teyonah Parris isn’t the only new actor joining the series as Katherine Hahn is also going to play a role. Her role has been described as a “Nosey Neighbor”, but recent plot leaks and rumors have suggested that she’d actually be portraying Agatha Harkness, the follower of Nightmare (the villain of Doctor Strange 2). Right below this, you can see the first look at Katherine Hahn on the set:
It’d be interesting to see if Hahn will end up playing Agatha or not. Another interesting part of the show is that Wanda’s children Wiccan & Speed will also be introduced. The other actors of the show are going to be Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo.
Marvel’s future is huge and there’s a lot that could happen. Black Widow is going to kick off the future slate on May 1. Here’s how the rest of the Phase 4 slate looks like – The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If? In Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021. Following these are Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk. Black Panther 2 has been scheduled for May 6, 2022.
