WandaVision is the new Marvel Studios original series that's currently entertaining audiences on streaming service Disney+.
But did you know one of the stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV spin-off grew up in Welwyn Hatfield?
The Marvel sitcom, directed by Matt Shakman, sees super-powered beings Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living idealised suburban lives in the quiet suburb of Westview.
However, they begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems in the DisneyPlus show.
Bettany, who also played synthezoid Vision in the Avengers superhero movies, lived in Brookmans Park as a child.
He was nine when his actor father, Thane Bettany, moved to girls' boarding school Queenswood as a drama teacher.
Now aged 49, Paul Bettany is a Hollywood star married to American actress Jennifer Connelly, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind. Ron Howard's 2001 biopic also starred Paul Bettany.
His film credits since include Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World alongside Russell Crowe, tennis movie Wimbledon, The Da Vinci Code, in which he played murderous albino monk Silas opposite Tom Hanks, and Mortdecai, which was partly filmed at Hatfield House and starred Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Bettany, whose voice made his debut in the MCU as J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man, first appeared on screen as Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Vision also made appearances in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
His human-like robot character was killed by Thanos at the end of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, but returns as a lead character in WandaVision living happily with new wife Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
The actor says he first heard about WandaVision during a visit to Marvel Studios.
“I went in, and much to my surprise, they pitched this idea for a show that is an homage to American sitcoms,” he says.
"It’s a beautiful little puzzle box that you begin to open. As mad and chaotic as the trailer looks, everything has a reason.
"There are layers upon layers.”
Bettany's role in the series is already being tipped to win the actor accolades come awards season.
Olsen, who has portrayed Wanda since the character’s post-credits debut in Marvel Studios’ 2014 feature film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, returns to her signature role – taking it in a curious new direction.
“Paul and I get to discover at a much deeper level who these characters are,” she says.
“Wanda and Vision have always had an unspoken and inherent connection since Ultron.
“The infinity stone is such a huge part of their intrinsic connection and understanding of one another.
"I think just like any great love story, there is a strong energy that attracts both of them to one another.
"In WandaVision, we watch them experience a domesticated lifestyle for the first time, or as domesticated as possible for them.
"We watch them experience the joys and complications of parenting, while also overcoming secrecy and distrust, but always coming together in the end with the common bond, respect and unconditional love for one another.”
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer at Marvel said: “Wanda and Vision are two of our most powerful and complex heroes, and this series is a perfect expansion point for MCU storytelling.”
The streaming series – the first two episodes debuted on January 15 with the next available from Friday, January 22 – not only marks the first Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series, it is its first journey into the world of sitcoms, albeit with an MCU twist.
“It’s a mash-up of classic sitcoms and large-scale Marvel action,” says Matt Shakman, who directs all nine episodes.
Shakman gained an Emmy nomination for his work on the pilot episode of Russian period romp The Great, which was partly filmed at Hatfield House.
“I think it’s really lovely that the first streaming show from Marvel Studios – producer of huge blockbuster films – is really a love letter to the history of television.”
Marvel Studios’ first foray into the world of the sitcom celebrates the genre in a big way.
"The story imagines Wanda and Vision in a 1950s sitcom – when the show opens, that’s presented without explanation,” says head writer Jac Schaeffer.
“We see them move through the various eras of sitcoms as the series progresses.”
To achieve the desired authenticity, filmmakers decided to shoot the first episode in front of a live studio audience.
The effort not only conjured genuine laughter, harkening back to classic sitcoms of the 1950s, it affected the performances.
Says Shakman: “It's amazing when you put actors in front of a live audience, how much that material jumps when the adrenaline, the excitement, the communication is happening between the actor and the audience.
"It elevates the material, and it becomes much more like a play.
"That was a huge part of what we captured in episode one – that spark, that kind of lightning in a bottle.”
Paul Bettany most definitely felt that spark. “You can't help yourself when there are people there – you want them to hear it and laugh at it. It makes it all a little bigger.
"And that, I think, captured the style of the 50s. It was a brilliant decision."
“I was really nervous,” Bettany continues. “We rehearsed it very thoroughly, and every member of the crew was dressed in [1950s] costumes.
"Everybody really got into the spirit of it. And then the audience came in, and we just went for it. We jumped into the abyss. I just loved it. I should've been on a sitcom all these years.”
For those that haven't seen the opening episodes yet, according to Jac Schaeffer, WandaVision is funny, mysterious and action-packed.
“It picks up shortly after Avengers: Endgame,” she says.
“Marvel fans have never seen Wanda and Vision in this way before.
"Their storyline has been so romantic and tragic – fans have really latched onto it. But really, it’s been precious little screen time, and it’s all been very fraught.
"In this show, we get to see them in a domestic light, and it gets to breathe. It’s really beautiful."
“In the first episode we meet Wanda and Vision after they’ve just been married,” continues Schaeffer.
“They’re driving into this new town with ‘just married’ on the back of their cute little car. It’s 1950s, black and white, they’re absolutely adorable.
"They’re madly in love, and there is not a hint of the Avengers or the larger MCU. We see them going about their day, making breakfast.
"She’s a witch, he’s synthezoid. She can dry dishes in the air. He can change density and walk through things.”
Shakman says: “Wanda and Vision are just starting their married life together in this new town, and they're meeting their neighbours. Vision's starting to work at his new job while Wanda navigates life at home.
"They're concerned about hiding their powers from their new friends and neighbours, and when they're pushed for more information about where they came from, they're stumped.
"That's when we start to realise that things are not quite what they seem.”
With nine episodes, the series was created much like a motion picture would be – but more extensive, allowing first-of-its-kind exploration of the relationship between Wanda and Vision.
Says co-executive producer Mary Livanos: “Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany have the opportunity to flex different muscles over the course of this series that usually an actor wouldn’t get to do within the scope of a single project.”
WandaVision also stars Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, who was introduced to audiences in Captain Marvel, and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes, the nosy neighbour.
Randall Park reprises his role as Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Kat Dennings returns as Darcy from Thor and Thor: The Dark World.
As the episodes progress, so do the sitcom eras, which required a fresh approach with each episode, including production design, costumes, cinematography and performances.
“There aren't many opportunities as an actor to explore as many genres and tones as we do in this series,” says Olsen.
“It was as much of a challenge as it was a joy. This Marvel story could only ever be told through the medium of television and that's what makes it such a special piece of the MCU.”
WandaVision is streaming exclusively on Disney+.
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