Do TV shows have a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Despite Marvel being well-known for their intriguing comics and heroic characters, in the past decade, there has been a new phenomenon for the Disney-owned franchise: films.

The MCU, more formally known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, currently consists of 23 blockbuster films and shows no signs of slowing down.

But what about TV shows? Do they have a place in this multi-million dollar franchise?

The start of 2021 saw the release of WandaVision, an interesting new move for Marvel. Despite the company previously releasing other TV series such as Jessica Jones and The Defenders, it seems as though this show has a different feel to it.

With unexpected turns and a style that defies the normal narrative to any show I’ve seen before, it made for a really interesting watch that is surprising in every way.

We start with the first episode Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience, where it seems as though the two main characters, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are living in a 1950s sitcom.

As the series progresses, each episode is set in a different decade and it becomes clear that this show is just one piece of the complex MCU jigsaw. However, it does take a while to get to this point.

Marvel do seem confident in their decision to start putting more TV shows out there, though.

Throughout the year, WandaVision is being joined by fellow Disney+ releases The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye; all being available to watch on the streaming service.

With these shows in the pipeline, it will be interesting to see if Marvel continue making them after their bigger planned projects have been released, such as Black Widow and Thor: Love and Thunder. It has been a while since one of their blockbusters has been available to watch in cinemas, so are these shows just acting as fillers to bring in some money to the company?

Who knows, but in my opinion, TV shows in the MCU are welcomed with open arms and I can’t wait to see what they have in store!

Edited by Jemma Snowdon