SPOILERS follow for WandaVision through its third episode.
A notable part of WandaVision has been the character of “Geraldine” – a name that jumped out to many fans when we met her in the show’s second episode because we knew it wasn’t the character’s real name, given Teyonah Parris (Mad Men) was announced as playing Monica Rambeau in the series back at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.
Monica was the young daughter of Carol Danvers‘ best friend, Maria Rambeau, in the 1990s-set Captain Marvel – a character who in the comics is a superhero in her own right, having been an Avenger (and even leading the team) and going by several names, including, Captain Marvel, along with Photon, Pulsar, and Spectrum.
We’ll see more of Parris as Monica in Captain Marvel 2 , but in the meantime, as WandaVision continues, Fandom spoke to her about being introduced via the sitcom reality of the show and what it was like filming that big scene with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) at the end of the third episode.
GERALDINE FOUND OUT
Monica is calling herself Geraldine – albeit after a notable pause when asked her name — from the moment she’s introduced in WandaVision, and Parris enjoyed how that would play with fans aware of who she was playing from the start. Said Parris, “We meet Geraldine and I think what’s really exciting and gonna be a bit of mystery for the fans is trying to piece together well, ‘Who is Geraldine? Because we know Teyonah is playing Monica… is that the same?’”
Of course, “Geraldine,” who it seems is actually an agent of S.W.O.R.D., accidentally blows her cover at the end of the third episode, “Now in Color,” after Wanda mentions she’s a twin and Monica, apparently coming out of a bit of a spell herself hearing Wanda say that, notes that Pietro Maximoff was killed by Ultron. This results in Wanda dropping the happy sitcom wife façade in the biggest – and easily most menacing – way we’ve seen for her since the show began.
When it came to filming that big scene with Olsen, Parris said, “Just watching Lizzie work… I’m really excited for fans to get to see her really get to do her thing. She’s on full display and really going for it and just so grounded.”
Parris laughed that she was so impressed by Olsen’s performance that she probably got a bit too lost in the moment filming that scene, recalling, “To see her go from one [demeanor] to the other, and being there, a couple of times I’m sure I probably threw her off, I was so in it. I’m like ‘Yes!’ And then I’m like, ‘Oh wait, I’m definitely supposed to be in this scene with you,’ but I’m just watching her!”
CHANGING THINGS UP
That confrontation with Wanda results in Monica being expelled from the sitcom world and sent back into the real world – demonstrated visually by the show’s visuals changing to a modern widescreen format and everything now filmed cinematically as opposed to in the classic sitcom style WandaVision is typically using.
Monica now becomes the first character we get to see in both worlds of the show, and Parris remarked that when it came to that aspect, plus WandaVision’s hoping through different sitcom eras, “That was a lot of fun because essentially you have each of these decades and [also] you have the two different worlds. Being able to explore all of those different types of television, well, all sitcoms, but just the decades — the different structure and parameter that happens for each one of those — was really fun to study.”
As far as prep went for WandaVision, Parris added, “We did a whole sitcom bootcamp to get ready for that and get us in our mindset, so that was definitely a really fun experience.”
MONICA’S MARVELOUS FUTURE
Parris is just getting started in the MCU as she gets ready to reprise her role as Monica in Captain Marvel 2 alongside both Brie Larson as Carol Danvers and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, after the latter is introduced in her own Disney+ series later this year.
Said Parris, of her growing role in the MCU, “It’s been an amazing experience thus far – just the collaborative spirit that has been around bringing adult Monica back to the MCU. And they’ve been very open to my interpretation of who she is and I’m putting forth what their ideas are on who she is and just bringing all of those things together. I am very excited for her future in the MCU. As we know, she’s moving on to Captain Marvel 2 with Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, so I think there’s gonna be some really fun stuff ahead for us.”
New episodes of WandaVision debut Fridays on Disney+.
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