Marvel Studios announced on Tuesday that its “Assembled” docuseries, which will go behind the scenes of various Marvel Cinematic Universe films and television shows, will premiere on Disney+ on March 12. The first “Assembled” episode will be centered on “WandaVision,” the Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany-led series that premiered on Disney+ in January. Per Marvel, the episode will feature Olsen, Bettany and “WandaVision’s” creative team and will delve into how the production’s surprising concept took shape by drawing inspiration from classic sitcoms. Footage will reveal how the crew went to great lengths to emulate various filmmaking methods used during the early years of television, and the unique challenges and rewards of performing an entire episode in front of a live studio audience. Franchise newcomers, such as Teyonah Parris and Kathryn Hahn, as well as returning talents Kat Dennings and Randall Park, will be featured in the episode.
Upcoming Marvel titles such as “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Loki” will also be featured in subsequent episodes of “Assembled.” The former series is expected to premiere on Disney+ on March 19, while “Loki” is slated to release in May. Though “WandaVision” has received positive reviews from critics, some reviewers, including IndieWire’s Ben Travers, have had mixed feelings about the show. Travers argued in his grade C+ review of Episode 6 that though the show’s sitcom inspirations are typically entertaining, the show is nonetheless playing like an overlong movie. “In Episode 6, with audiences sitting on the precipice of unprecedented change in the MCU, here we are again, trapped behind an invisible, suddenly expanding wall,” Travers said in his review. “There’s some fun to be had in the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’-inspired ’90s set-up, complete with a grungy opening number and tiny kiddos breaking the fourth wall, but there’s zero payoff on last week’s closing twist, very little progress made toward Wanda addressing her trauma, and too many empty, less-than-spooktacular shows of force. Aside from its weekly small-screen aesthetics, “WandaVision” still feels far too much like an inflated feature film that just keeps dragging out its story via inconvenient weekly installments.”
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