One of Disney‘s best sci-fi fantasy shows premiered almost five years ago. Despite its critical and commercial success, it did not look like it would be followed up with another season. The show in question came off more as a one-off wonder that stood out as a rare and highly creative addition to a massive overarching franchise.
However, after all these years, the show in question, WandaVision, is finally getting a follow-up, VisionQuest.
Featuring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as Wanda and Vision, respectively, WandaVision served as the first TV addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the miniseries etched a very distinct identity for itself in the overarching franchise by combining sitcom tropes with elements of sci-fi and fantasy.
The MCU eventually went on to add many other spin-off TV shows into its catalog as its Phase Four progressed. However, almost none of them matched WandaVision‘s acclaim and success. WandaVision, too, was followed up with a spin-off series, Agatha All Along, which premiered in September 2024. After two years, the sub-franchise continues to grow with another follow-up, VisionQuest.
VisionQuest Is The Closest We’ve Got To WandaVision Season 2
Since Agatha All Along was the first follow-up to WandaVision, it can qualify as the second installment of the Disney series. Both shows even share creative leadership (showrunner Jac Schaeffer) and Westview roots. However, Agatha All Along did its own thing instead of having any major connections with its predecessor.
It focused more on themes of identity and ambition with its portrayal of dark fantasy and coven magic. Unlike WandaVision, it had little to do with themes of grief and trauma and did not even adopt its parent show’s American television sitcom era framework. Put simply, Agatha All Along felt like a radical shift in tone and genre from WandaVision.
Some might argue that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness qualified as a direct sequel to WandaVision. Given how the movie continued Wanda’s story, the argument seems fair. However, in more ways than one, Doctor Strange 2 almost hit a reset button on the show’s ending. WandaVision concluded with Wanda consciously choosing to dismantle the Hex and freeing the people of Westview.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, however, she is framed more as a slasher-style antagonist. She also serves more as a narrative engine in the movie to drive Stephen Strange’s hero arc and introduce multiversal mechanics.
Owing to this, after five years, VisionQuest seems like the first addition to the MCU that feels like a direct extension of WandaVision’s story. The upcoming show picks up the most immediate unresolved plot thread left hanging in WandaVision’s ending arc, where White Vision gains his memories and flies off to “find” himself.
Similar to WandaVision, VisionQuest is also set to explore similar themes of grief and selfhood where the titular character will rebuild himself and try to regain his humanity.
VisionQuest Can Also Be Considered The Age Of Ultron 2
A closer look at VisionQuest and its story also reveals how it can be seen as the perfect follow-up to 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Beyond its action and superhero drama, Age of Ultron was basically about the ideological conflict between Tony Stark’s protective vision (J.A.R.V.I.S.), Ultron’s destructive cynicism, and Vision’s gradual synthesis of human empathy.
Since White Vision is bereft of the Mind Stone and emotional context, his story returns to a clean state where he must choose which artificial lineage defines him.
With its exploration of Vision’s humanity, VisionQuest also expands Vision and Ultron’s conversation from Age of Ultron. While Ultron believed humanity was doomed, Vision found humanity’s flaws endearing. Disney‘s VisionQuest will feel more like a retake on Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s narrative where the titular character will confront the same conflict after being stripped of his own humanity.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
