After the conclusion of season 1 of The Mandalorian in December 2019, Disney+’s Marvel series WandaVision will be released earlier than expected, coming sometime in 2020 rather than 2021. Marvel fans had expected one show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, during 2020 after producer Kevin Feige announced Marvel’s post-Avengers: Endgame slate, but the inclusion of WandaVision’s promotional still in a sizzle reel of Disney+’s 2020 offerings confirmed that two MCU shows will appear on the service this year.
What we already know about WandaVision is sparse but fascinating. The tone has been described as “half classic sitcom, half MCU spectacular,” and the promotional still fits that description with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in a fifties-style dress and apron and Vision (Paul Bettany) in a retro blazer and tie. WandaVision’s plot has been rumored to include SWORD (Sentient World Observation and Response Department), a counterterrorism agency from the comics. These elements represent an exciting expansion of the MCU, and tying in the series to the wildly popular films will attract a new swath of subscribers to Disney+, which has already seen encouraging growth.
This change proves that The Mandalorian is a huge success for Disney+. It has generated significant buzz online, especially thanks to Baby Yoda, and received near-universal acclaim, reinvigorating and coalescing the Star Wars fanbase after the fractures resulting from Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. If there was any doubt that fans of a film franchise would subscribe to a streaming service in order to keep up with the fandom’s connected stories, The Mandalorian has put those doubts to rest. And MCU fans will likely subscribe in order to keep up with the films’ characters just as Star Wars fans have.
Also, the old television model of releasing a series week-by-week, episode-by-episode still gains traction now, despite many viewers being more accustomed to binge-watching. The Mandalorian’s plot was thin on conventional cliffhangers, except for episode 7, but nevertheless, its fragmented release strategy kept the conversation going longer than a straight eight-episode drop would have. We don’t know Disney’s strategy for its Marvel properties, but it’s safe to assume that The Mandalorian provided proof of the success of a weekly release.
The Mandalorian was a win for Disney+, but that also means Disney both wants and needs to build on that success. Moving WandaVision to a late 2020 release indicates that they’re looking to capitalize on it sooner rather than later.
More: The Mandalorian Season 2 Will Answer BIG Star Wars Questions
