After a year without a Marvel movie, WandaVision is imminent. The Disney+ original series is the first TV show produced by Marvel Studios, the studio responsible for carefully crafting the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen over the last decade. And with WandaVision set to premiere on Disney+ on Friday, January 15, the first reactions to the show’s first few episodes have arrived online courtesy of critics and press that were given early access.

WandaVision takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame and stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision. For those wondering how Vision is still alive given that he was very, very not-alive in Avengers: Endgame, well Wanda may have those questions too.

Marvel has kept a pretty tight lid on plot specifics except to say that Wanda and Vision are living a quiet suburban life in the town of Westview when they begin to suspect things are not as they seem. WandaVision will pay homage to iconic television shows throughout history, as director Matt Shakman (who helmed every episode) crafts specific episodes as if they were made in certain time periods. So we’ll see Wanda and Vision as a married couple in a 1950s I Love Lucy-esque setting, as well as homages to shows like The Brady Bunch, Full House, and even The Office.

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Image via Disney+/Marvel Studios

This is the beginning of a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that will play out on the small screen and the big screen simultaneously. In contrast to past Marvel shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Daredevil, these new shows are being produced by Kevin Feige himself and their storylines have been planned out right alongside the overarching storyline that will play out in movies like Eternals, Black Widow, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Check out what everyone had to say about seeing the first three episodes of WandaVision below. The series premieres exclusively on Disney+ on January 15 with its first two episodes. From there, WandaVision will air one new episode a week before wrapping its season with nine episodes total.

Here They Are: The First WandaVision Reactions

We here are Collider are beyond excited for the arrival of WandaVision, something our Editor-in-Chief Steven Weintraub echoed in his reaction to the upcoming Marvel Disney+ series. Weintraub notes in his Twitter reaction that he "love[s] how big of a swing" WandaVision is taking and praises Marvel Studio head Feige's "willingness to take risks" like the ones shown in the first three episodes he watched. Weintraub also made sure to alert prospective viewers to the fact that the first three WandaVision episodes run about one hour and 30 minutes altogether, so fans eager to go into full binge-mode will be mighty pleased.

One of the major through-lines in these early reactions is the universal praise for Olsen and Bettany's performances as Wanda Maximoff and Vision, respectively. Fandom Managing Editor Eric Goldman pegs Olsen's performance as award-worthy, making the case for an Emmy nomination in a Twitter reaction thread. The Playlist contributor Griffin Schiller also hones in on Bettany and Olsen in a reaction tweet, deeming the actor's performances as "electric." Additionally, Comicbook.com's Brandon Davis says Olsen and Bettany are "tremendous," one of the many pieces of praise he offers in his reaction.

Another notable aspect of the early widespread acclaim for WandaVision focuses on just how big and gutsy the show is — and how well those big, gutsy leaps pay off. Entertainment reporter Germain Lussier notes in a reaction tweet that WandaVision is "weird and hilarious in ways that Marvel has no right attempting" before going on to praise just how well the show hangs together based on what's been screened so far. Additionally, Tessa Smith, ScreenRant writer and co-host of The Geekly Show, calls WandaVision "banana-pants crazy" and goes on to say it's "weird, fun, and simply amazing."  

These early reactions to WandaVision also generally touch on how exciting it is to see Marvel Studios set up its next phase in such a refreshing and surreal way. WandaVision marks the start of MCU's Phase 4 — something we didn't think would happen back in 2020, when that honor was originally bestowed on Black Widow. With this Marvel Disney+ show setting the tone for the road ahead, early reactions touch down on the show's inclusion of MCU Easter eggs and mention a curiosity to see how the show sets up future MCU's stories including the Doctor Strange sequel.