Working on WandaVision reminded Elizabeth Olsen of her Full House memories. Before the actress joined Hollywood, her twin sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, were already household names, as the pair alternately played Michelle Tanner in the ABC classic family show. Now, as she works on WandaVision, which is influenced by sitcoms over the years, Olsen can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia over her sisters’ first gig.
Set after Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision reunites Wanda (Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they attempt to live a quiet and normal life in the suburbs as a newly-married couple. Aside from its lead stars, the show will also feature Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as a grown-up Monica Rambeau, and Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo. Meanwhile, Kathryn Hahn’s character has yet to be announced, but rumor has it she’s portraying Agatha Harkness. Taking on a sitcom format, WandaVision is expected to evolve into a more familiar MCU offering as it starts to delve into the secrets behind Wanda and Vision’s true nature as superpowered beings.
Marvel Studios is keeping specific details of WandaVision close to the chest as the project still awaits an official release date. As part of the marketing campaign for the show, however, EW released a cover feature, which includes interviews with the WandaVision cast. In it, Olsen admits working on the series reminds her of visiting Mary-Kate and Ashley on the set of Full House:
There was something very meta for my own life because I would visit those tapings as a kid, where my sisters were working [on Full House].
Aside from having a similar storytelling format, WandaVision also further leans on Olsen’s connection to Full House with several Easter eggs to the family show and other sitcoms. Since the Disney+ project will be traveling through decades of TV, part of its ’80s era-themed set-up clearly mines aesthetic inspiration from Full House. In the trailers, Vision wears a tucked plaid shirt similar to Danny Tanner’s (Bob Saget) casual ensemble. On top of that, the couple’s renovated house layout resembles the show’s iconic San Francisco home with the L-shaped carpeted stairs and stained-glass fitted front doors. The arrival of Wanda and Vision’s twins, Billy and Tommy Maximoff can also be interpreted as a nod to the Olsen twins playing Michelle on Full House.
Right now, Mary-Kate and Ashley have officially retired from Hollywood and are now running their own fashion empire. This caused issues when Netflix revived Full House, with its spin-off Fuller House having to go through five seasons of no Michelle. At one point, there were rumors Olsen was being courted to play the part even for a cameo, but that obviously didn’t happen. In any case, at least the younger Olsen sister can still try her hand at sitcoms via WandaVision, albeit in an indirect way.
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