WandaVision Director Matt Shakman: Finale Is Hopefully “Surprising but Also Satisfying”

Now, as we’re gearing up for the finale of Marvel’s WandaVision season 1 on Disney+ (with no news about a season 2 in sight), fans are wondering what exactly the final episode has in store for us. Director Matt Shakman says the hope is that the audience will find the finale “surprising but also satisfying, and that it feels inevitable because it’s the same story they’ve been watching the whole time.” Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Shakman got into the love for “Agatha All Along,” as well as the theories about the show going around.

What’s interesting, to me at least, is that Shakman is aware of the theories we have and that some of us won’t see those theories come true. “I know there are so many theories out there; there will be a lot of people who will no doubt be disappointed by one theory or another,” Shakman said, and look, it’s okay if your theory doesn’t pan out.

After having spent so many years binge-watching shows now, I think many have forgotten what it is like to watch a show week in and week out and come up with theories and, sometimes, have those theories not be true. Remember all the things we thought about Lost?

So the idea that people might be “disappointed” is more about us just not being right about something. And that’s fine! We’ve all become so connected to the instant gratification of streaming that when a show like WandaVision gives our theories time to breathe, we become so connected to them that if they don’t pan out, there is this air of disappointment about it. But I trust WandaVision and the creatives bringing me this story, and I know that even if my theories aren’t true or something isn’t answered, that’s more than fine.

Shakman also brought up exploring Wanda’s grief in a Marvel setting and how challenging yet rewarding the experience has been:

The challenge as a director was unique. I’ll never have a job like this again. This was the job of a lifetime, to be able to draw on all of those different skillsets. But what does hold it all together is that it has a big heart. It’s a love story, it’s a story of loss, and I think that resonates even more in this crazy pandemic that we’re all trying to survive right now. I think we can all understand where Wanda’s coming from, so it helps it to resonate a little bit more.

The finale of WandaVision has a lot of setting up to do for the future of not just Wanda Maximoff but the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is the first Marvel property we’re seeing on Disney+, and the first show to really start to set up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and so it’s going to be interesting to see just how much they do with the final episode.

I love WandaVision and I love how much Wanda has been given the chance to grow, and I can’t wait for what the finale has in store for us, no matter whose theories pay off.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—