Set Design

WandaVision: Inside the Retro Sets

Production designer Mark Worthington tells AD how he used design to tell a story spanning decades for the buzziest show of the year
a woman holding and orb of light in a living room
The first season of WandaVision is available to stream on Disney+ now. Plans for season two have not yet been announced.Photo: Marvel Studios

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There's no doubt that WandaVision, the new Marvel series on Disney+, made a splash this year—thanks in part to its sets. The show acts like a sequel to the 2019 Marvel film, Avengers: Endgame, and follows the suburban world of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), as they attempt to live a normal life in Westview, New Jersey, while hiding their superhero talents.

The first episode was shot in black-and-white. Here, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) opens her door to Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp).

Photo: ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

This powder blue kitchen is only seen onscreen in black and white. Here, director Matt Shakman talks to Olsen and Paul Bettany, who plays Vision.

Photo: Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.

WandaVision pays homage to sitcoms throughout the ages, from the 1950s to the 2000s, which makes the design extra important for setting the scene. Each era is dependent on the furniture in Wanda and Vision’s idyllic suburban home.

Production designer Mark Worthington (known for his past work on American Horror Story and Umbrella Academy) was up to the task. “Period work is something I enjoy doing; I do a fair amount of it,” Worthington tells AD. “Part of it comes from my background in theater; I always start with story and character.” In other words, he’s the go-to retro guy, who has a knack for balancing a room with vintage sets and decor, without drawing the attention away from the plot and story.

This set visually references old sitcoms like The Brady Bunch with its wooden furniture and floating staircase.

Photo: Marvel Studios

“Sets have their own personality,” he says. “There’s a period aspect to it. It’s stylized by an approach to character, story, and tone.” The first episode takes place in the mid-20th century, and calls to mind sitcoms like I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show. The second episode rolls through the 1960s and into the early 1970s, with nods to Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Later, The Brady Bunch and The Mary Tyler Moore Show are referenced, and eventually the show gets into the 1980s and 1990s with references to Roseanne, Full House, and Family Ties. In the sixth episode and onward, it enters the present day, including a nod to Modern Family.

The series was shot mostly in Atlanta and Los Angeles, and though the budget was reportedly $25 million per episode, much of the midcentury design was found in secondhand and vintage shops across Atlanta, as well as Craigslist and 1stDibs for the higher-end pieces.

“We were out scouring everywhere,” says Worthington, who worked with set decorator Kathy Orlando. “With our budget, even though it's Marvel, we had to do it for a specific price.”

A living room shot from the 1970s episode of WandaVision, with a stone fireplace, armchairs, and a wooden table.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Some of the best shots include the furniture, like the lime green couch from the 1970s episode, or the dapper kitchenette from the 1950s set. “Sometimes we drew [pieces] and had them custom made; other times we found them vintage,” says Worthington. “For everything, it all needed to feel squeaky clean and new.”

Because of this, he made sure not to “overtexture” the furniture. “That’s one of the mistakes that happens in period shows,” he says. “It has to be absolutely pristine and perfect, to the point where it’s slightly odd.” Striking that balance—and making sure it did not come off as campy—was not easy. “If we made it weird in a subconscious way, you’d miss the tone entirely—it could come off overcooked and silly,” he says.

Agnes (played by Kathryn Hahn) with Vision and Wanda during the '80s-themed episode.

Photo: Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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Worthington wasn’t able to include any designer furniture as part of the sets, because it was important that the home evoke “American middle class all the way through,” he says. “You don’t get any Harry Bertoia furniture here. We were more interested in non-designer-name pieces that felt right for the period but were clearly more anonymous.”

Even without the big names from the various decades, the retro decor is easy and fun, and looks pristine and glossy onscreen. “A lot of it is just great design, no matter what the era,” says Worthington. “People are attracted to good design.”