Like other television shows and movies attempting to film during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the cast and crew of WandaVision had to make several adjustments to their day-to-day lives and schedules. In a recent interview, several members of the upcoming Disney+ series talked about the atmosphere around production and how it changed during lockdown.
Speaking to The New York Times, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany pointed out there were good and bad things that came from putting together WandaVision over the last year. While it wasn't always easy or fun, they ultimately felt it was worth it. "We're all experiencing this extreme version of life right now," Olsen said. "We created this microcosm of humanity where we could communicate and problem-solve together. There was something great about getting to come to work and experience that."
Before the outbreak and subsequent lockdowns, the cast and crew of WandaVision could freely mingle on set. Filming began again in July 2020 after a prolonged break in production and Olsen, Bettany and the rest of the cast and crew came back to a set where they were completely separated from each other.
While they spent time in proximity to one another while filming, once a scene was shot everyone immediately returned to their own environments. Bettany described how actors would finish a scene and get "whisked into hermetically sealed bubbles." Olsen added this isolation was one of the most difficult aspects of filming. "I had a hard time with that," Olsen said. "I was like: 'But I'm talking to the crew! This is for moral support!'"
At the same time, both actors said the unusual factors around filming seemed to fit the plot and environment of WandaVision itself. Olsen and Bettany told The New York Times that both the narrative of the Disney+ show and the "making-of process" reflects a desire to keep going and keep moving forward no matter "how unrecognizable" the world became. After all the adjustments and adaptations that the cast and crew made, the show arrives on Disney+ in just five days with a two-episode special. So far, reactions to at least the premiere and early going of WandaVision have been largely positive, calling it "funny and bold."
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. The series premieres Jan. 15 on Disney+.
Source: The New York Times