'WandaVision' Director Says Aerospace Engineer Was Never Intended To Be A 'Fantastic Four' Tease

With “WandaVision” done and fans now able to take a look at the whole story and figure out what they liked and didn’t like, there are still some that feel a bit underwhelmed by the finale. And part of this disappointment might stem from the internalized hype they had for what was expected, with major cameos and huge Easter Eggs about the future of the MCU. But according to director Matt Shakman, one of the biggest fan expectations involved a character that was never supposed to have been so important.

Speaking on the Fatman Beyond podcast, Shakman explained the mystery of the “aerospace engineer.” For those that didn’t keep track of the fan speculation machine that erupted during “WandaVision,” folks went crazy when Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) talked about her aerospace engineer friend that was going to help them get back into the Hex. The way she said it and the history of Marvel projects taught fans that this was setting up some big reveal. Instead, they got Major Goodner, a minor cameo from a character that was created for the series. A far cry from theories such as Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four showing up.

Well, as Shakman explained, this wasn’t meant to be some sort of distraction and instead was just a random character that was going to help Rambeau grow.

“We added the aerospace engineer…which was never an intention on our side to set up the Fantastic Four,” explained Shakman.

“We’re building to this rover set piece, which I’ve been working my butt off on for over a year,” added Shakman.” And suddenly everyone wants to know who’s going to meet her there. And I know it’s going to be this wonderful actress who’s playing Major Goodner. And it’s not going to be Reed Richards. And I want people to be invested in what is the origin story of a different character that Monica Rambeau is becoming. And instead, we’re being distracted by something else…I didn’t want the focus to shift from what was important, which was the story of Monica traveling through the Hex.”

So, why didn’t Shakman go on social media or in interviews to dispel this theory and try to get people to focus on the real story elements? He said that he didn’t do press before the episode and Marvel tends to instruct its filmmakers to let rumors play out.

“In general, it’s ‘Let things go, don’t address the rumors’ is probably better because people will see the episode and get their answers anyway,” he said.

That said, watching the episodes where Rambeau mentions the engineer, it is definitely set up in a way that leads the viewer to believe the character will have a big role. At least with this theory, there is some basis for why fans might have speculated. I mean, Marvel has taught us to always look for clues, right?

“WandaVision” is available now on Disney+.