The day after its debut, the Disney+ exclusive WandaVision is already the highest rated MCU project on Rotten Tomatoes. The series serves as the first of several Disney+ shows set in the MCU, to be followed by The Falcon and the Winter Solider in March 2021, Loki in May 2021, and What If...? sometime later in the year. WandaVision follows the two titular heroes from the Avengers series as they move out into the suburbs to try and live a normal life. The series presents itself as an old American sitcom, but with flashes and moments that hint at something much darker going on underneath the idyllic and comforting presentation. WandaVision serves as the first entry for Phase 4 of the MCU.

The first two episodes of WandaVision were released to critical acclaim. Praised was heaped upon the show for being a dramatic departure from the traditional MCU style, and it's faithfulness to the old sitcoms it was parodying was noted as a highlight. The unsettling and unnerving nature of the show was also pointed out as a positive - pushing the MCU in new and weirder directions after the awe-inspiring finale that was Avengers: Endgame. Many wondered what the MCU could do after 20-something films and a handful of TV shows that could still make the long-running series feel fresh, and WandaVision provides an answer to that question.

Related: WandaVision: How Is Vision Alive After Infinity War?

Marvel's gamble on opening Phase 4 with WandaVision seems to have paid off, as the show is currently the highest rated MCU property on Rotten Tomatoes, gaining a critic score of 97% and an audience score of 85%. WandaVision easily became the highest rated MCU-related TV show on the website, but, surprisingly, it even managed to beat some of the MCU's most critically acclaimed feature films. WandaVision ranked higher than Infinity War, Endgame, and even managed to score one point above than the Best Picture-nominated Black PantherHowever, WandaVision's audience score still ranks below several MCU films.

Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision

While the discrepancy between the critic and audience scores aren't huge, it makes sense. Early reactions to WandaVision praised the dramatic shift in tone, but many also questioned how fans expecting a more typical Marvel outing were going to react to the series. The early episodes are much more in the vein of The Dick Van Dyke Show or Bewitched than Avengers, which may be confusing and frustrating to fans who are unfamiliar with those properties. However, the vast majority of fans and critics seem to have welcomed the shift in tone.

If WandaVision is setting the stage for Phase 4, then the future of the MCU seems very promising. Endgame more or less served as a perfect ending for the characters and stories Kevin Feige and company had been setting up since the original Iron Man. Keeping along that track would have been a disservice to creatives and characters that the MCU will explore in the future. As the reviews have shown, more idiosyncratic and nuanced projects like WandaVision seem to be the direction that Marvel should continue on in the future.

Next: WandaVision's World Explained: Who Made It & Is Scarlet Witch Trapped

Source: Rotten Tomatoes