Summary
While the upcoming Disney+ showVisionfeatures an established hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a spinoff of another MCU show, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige confirms that the show’s choice of showrunner takes inspiration from another franchise.
Wandavisionwas the first proper Disney+-era project for the MCU and was one of the more successful projects on streamer thanks to the novelty of a small-screen project that tied into previous MCU plotlines and even led into Doctor Strange in theMultiverse of Madness. While Elizabeth Olsen’s return as Wanda and Katherine Hahn’s standout performance as Agatha Harkness were the central focus of the narrative, fan-favorite Paul Bettany’s reprisal of his role from theAvengersfilms was also very well received, and fans were excited when it was revealed that aVisionSeries featuring Bettany was in the works for Disney Plus.
While at the time it was clear thatthe MCU’sVisionseries could be the perfect follow-up to WandaVision, the hand at the wheel for the project comes from much further afield. In an in-depth interview withInverse, Feige admitted that his choice of Terry Matalas as the showrunner forVisionwas inspired by his admiration ofStar Trek: Picard’sthird season, which Matalas was responsible for. “That’s how I got to know him,” Feige revealed during the interview. “It was from his amazing [work on Picard Season 3. I said: This is incredible. I don’t know how this exists. Let me find the person who made this.” Feige has been an avidStar Trekfan for ages and has previously confirmed that many MCU projects draw inspiration from his love of that franchise, making this just another step in a long-maintained direction.
It’s not clearwhat vision Matalas has forVision’sstoryline,but it’s unlikely it’ll be anything drawn directly fromStar Trek: Picard.His attachment to the project has far more to do with the effect that his sole control over the third season ofPicard(which was set up to be filmed alongside the second season due to scheduling) had on public perception of the show. While the series had been well received in some quarters, there was a noticeable contingent of fans that didn’t seem interested in the show on the whole, especially after the second season went live. However, the third season was a standout even with those that had been critical of the earlier seasons, with season three boasting an impressive 97% critic score and 89% among audiences, far outstripping the two prior seasons’ audience scores of 52% and 30% respectively.
While the creative choice is good news for the series, there should be some concern thatit might be too late for the MCU’sVisionseriesto really have an impact on the viewing audience.Agatha All Along,anotherWandaVisionspinoff series that is much closer to release, has been derided as the MCU’s most unnecessary project in large part due to the amount of time that’s elapsed between the conclusion ofWandaVisionin 2021 and its late 2024 release. While Vision gets a lot more consideration as a member of the Avengers and a fan-favorite predating WandaVision, the currently scheduled 2026 release date would mark a half-decade wait for the character’s solo outing. With the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessalready done and passed and the newly reworkedAvengers: Doomsdayslated for an early 2026 release, how the Vision series can even stay relevant to the MCU’s current state of affairs if it’s related to WandaVision remains a mystery.
While Star Trek might be stellar inspiration for the series, the recent return of Robert Downey Jr. means thatMarvel is also borrowing fromDoctor Who, and that should be concerningas that franchise has similarly seen a downturn in popularity and fan confusion due to its return to past stars. How this will affect the MCU ahead ofVision’s2026 release remains to be seen.
