When Disney+ Original WandaVision debuts on 15 January, it won’t just kick off Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’ll also mark the first time Marvel Studios has taken full creative control over a TV show set in the MCU. Until now, shows connected to the MCU – such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Runaways, and (shudder) Inhumans – have been co-produced with the likes of ABC Studios and managed by Marvel Television (its own separate entity until October 2019, when it officially became part of Marvel Studios proper).

The upshot of this is that WandaVision and fellow Disney+ Originals Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If…?, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye will likely take their storytelling cues more directly from the MCU movies that spawned them. But that doesn’t mean Marvel Studios should completely ignore its existing library of shows. Indeed, there are plenty of lessons that the showrunners of Marvel Studios’ Disney+ shows can learn from these past efforts – especially Netflix’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher.

Lesson #1: Don’t pad out the stories

The longer-form approach to serialised storytelling currently in vogue has seen many TV shows (even acclaimed ones) accused of mid-season pacing problems. This includes Netflix’s Marvel series – particularly Luke Cage and Iron Fist, which felt like six to eight episodes’ worth of story spread out across 13 so that Marvel could meet its contractual obligations to Netflix. The Disney+ Marvel content needs to avoid this trap.

Fortunately, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are set to run for only nine and six episodes respectively. As such, their creative leads, Jac Schaeffer and Malcolm Spellman, seem less beholden to pre-set episode counts, and more free to let story dictate season size. Here’s hoping that’s true of all future Marvel shows.

Lesson #2: Explore different tones and darker themes

Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all won critical praise for using the superhero genre to tackle darker, more socially relevant themes. They also earned kudos for adopting a grittier sensibility than the mainstream MCU, which complemented their more mature approach to the source material. Together, this tonal and thematic shift offered a fresh take on the MCU.

With the MCU now over a decade old, Marvel Studios should consider taking a similar approach with its new Disney+ shows. Otherwise, the overarching uber-franchise is in danger of getting stale. Admittedly, deviating too far from the MCU’s winning formula could alienate more casual fans – but surely the rewards (namely, a reinvigorated MCU machine) outweigh the risks here?

Falcon and the Winter Soldier appears to be playing things safe, however, WandaVision looks set to push the MCU in a new, more surreal direction. So, here’s hoping it’s not the last MCU Disney+ series to follow the Netflix shows’ lead and break the established MCU mould!

Lesson #3: Make sure it feels like part of the MCU

For a TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to succeed, it has to feel like it’s set in the MCU. If that sounds like a no-brainer, remember it’s something the Netflix series all quickly forgot. True, they started out strong, indirectly referencing the movies and using them as a jumping-off point to explore the street-level impact of earth-shattering events such as The Avengers’ Battle of New York. However, efforts to link the Netflix series with the MCU films were steadily abandoned over time and replaced with a greater emphasis on inter-series shared continuity, instead.

So, while it was clear that Daredevil took place in the same world as, say, The Punisher, it didn’t feel like either show belonged in the same universe as the MCU. That said, it seems virtually impossible for the Disney+ MCU shows to suffer this same fate, though. Headlined by several key supporting players from the movies – with the original actors even reprising their roles! – it’s going to be pretty hard for WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and the other upcoming series not to highlight their connection to the MCU.

Lesson #4: Never sacrifice the main narrative to set up future spinoffs

As mentioned earlier, the Marvel Netflix series had issues with their pacing – but a bit of padding wasn’t their only narrative shortcoming. Part of the problem was also the studio’s preoccupation with setting up future shows and spinoffs. This forced each show’s showrunners to drop key plot threads abruptly or introduce frustratingly tangential subplots, solely for the benefit of other shows and future spinoffs.

Fortunately, Marvel Studios has already learned this lesson the hard way with its big screen properties. After nearly derailing the entire MCU with Iron Man 2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron – both roundly criticised for their clunky attempts to seed plot points for forthcoming films – the studio has settled on a more restrained, organic approach to telegraphing new additions to the MCU canon. Hopefully trickle down to the Disney+ shows.

Lesson #5: Only do a crossover if you have a worthwhile story to tell

A key factor in the MCU’s box office-breaking success is how it showcases characters from different sub-franchises in crossover movies. It’s easy to see why Marvel Television thought emulating this shared universe concept on the small screen with The Defenders would generate similar positive vibes. But there was just one little hitch: the story they cooked up wasn’t great.

Not even The Defenders’ fun character interactions or the compelling interplay between its charismatic ensemble cast could fully paper over the cracks in its hackneyed plot. What’s more, this mash-up adventure lacked real stakes and suffered from sluggish pacing (there’s that Netflix padding at work, again).

The lesson? Crossovers are only a good idea if you can cook up a story good enough to justify bringing multiple superheroes together. But given Marvel Studios’ impressive track record with team-up flicks, they should be more than up to the challenge!

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