Dick Van Dyke Helps Inspire Marvel's WandaVision Creators

WandaVision is Marvel Cinematic Universe's new sitcom streaming on Disney Plus that will deliver a new style of entertainment to Marvel fans and, quite frankly, fans who have no idea what Marvel is. The show takes place in a post-Avengers: Endgame timeline and will follow Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision. The series takes you on a journey with Wanda and Vision as they move and live suburban lives. The show begins as a typical 1950's sitcom, but the couple navigates through different periods of the '60s and '70s.

The golden era of television inspired the Wandavision showrunners. They pulled inspiration from shows like I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. WandaVision's writer is none other than Jac Schaeffer (Black Widow) and is directed by Matt Shakman. Shakman is no stranger to comedy and drama. He has directed shows like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and episodes of HBO's hit series Game of Thrones. Shakman himself appeared in episodes of sitcoms as a child actor.

Matt Shakman recently sat down with the legend Dick Van Dyke to pick his brain and get tips for WandaVision. Who better to get ideas from than Dick Van Dyke? The Dick Van Dyke Show was a situational comedy that ran five seasons (1961-1966) on CBS and is considered a pioneer in the genre. The show received 15 Emmy awards during the show's existence. Dick Van Dyke was successful on television, but he also played Bert in Disney's blockbuster Mary Poppins which instantly turned him into a Disney icon. When asked about the filming of WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen said,

"Our first episode is a big love song to The Dick Van Dyke show."

Shakman interviewed with Entertainment Tonight recently to discuss the new sitcom and his lunch with Dick Van Dyke and Marvel head Kevin Feige. Matt Shakman, regarding the lunch, said,

"The chance to sit down with him (Dick Van Dyke) and pick his brain and kiss the ring, really, but also just try to soak up the secret sauce that has made so much of what he's done."

You would think having lunch with a cinematic icon would be exciting enough. Still, Shakman also revealed the lunch took place at Disneyland's Club 33, which resides above one of the park's iconic attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean. First of all, as a Disney nerd, being able to eat in a restaurant above one of my all-time favorite Disney attractions would be a mind-blowing experience. Then, to enjoy that experience with an iconic celebrity, let's say I would need to be pinched to wake me from that dream.

Shakman also explained that the Disney legend Mr. Van Dyke was not well versed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige and Shakman had to explain the MCU and inform Dick Van Dyke about successful movies they have created, like Avengers: Endgame. Shakman said,

"It was so sweet to see Kevin realize and Dick realize what they were talking about. It was fun."

When pressed about the idea of having Dick Van Dyke in the series, Matt Shakman did not confirm or deny the possibility of having Dick Van Dyke in a cameo role in the future when asked.

Dick Van Dyke informed the Marvel duo about his number one rule. Matt said,

"We learned from Dick Van Dyke that their number one rule for how they approach anything was that if it couldn't happen in real life, it can't happen on the show."

Excellent knowledge to live by when making an entertaining sitcom. After being able to view the first two episodes with my non-Marvel fan wife, I can say that WandaVision is going to deliver on that golden age style of sitcom that is rarely produced nowadays.

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Sources(s):

Entertainment Tonight, Britannica, ScreenRant