WandaVision was full of surprise moments and cameos that had everyone talking but, ahead of the show's premiere, one element fans were likely surprised to learn of was the return of everyone’s favorite, dry-witted research assistant, Darcy Lewis. It had been a few years since Kat Dennings had been involved in the MCU, and she did not disappoint. However, it appears Dennings’ Darcy almost had an on-brand subplot on the show.
Although the return of Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis was a pleasant surprise for Marvel fans, her appearance in WandaVision brought more questions than answers regarding her lengthy absence. According to showrunner Jac Schaeffer, viewers were supposed to know more about her exploits following 2013's Thor: The Dark World. The WandaVision creator revealed Darcy’s story was more fleshed out in the initial writing stages, saying:
In earlier drafts, there was more of Darcy before she gets to the hex. And as the project coalesced it made more sense to keep everything base-centric, except for S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. So, we lost some of that other stuff. But it was really fun to write for Kat and to see a little bit more [of] what’s been going on with Darcy.
It's honestly not surprising to hear that there was supposed to be more to Darcy Lewis’ story, given how long she's been away. Some Marvel fans even wondered what happened to the character over the past several years. Though it would’ve filled in some gaps about Darcy’s MCU return, there might’ve been good reasons for not including the subplot.
While talking about the acclaimed Disney+ series with Rolling Stone, Jac Schaeffer delved more into the lost Darcy story and revealed how some elements were reused later. When it came to the abandoned subplot, Schaeffer further explained:
We had this idea that Darcy didn’t blip, but her grandmother did. And now her grandmother’s back and Darcy had pawned her old TV, so she has to go get the TV back. And when she plugs it in, Episode One pops up, and that’s how the broadcast is discovered. It was silly, it was too much of a detour. But that writing infused all the later writing for Darcy. We also jumped all over the opportunity to have her be a Ph.D. now. That was just delightful to write.
It was nice to learn that the WandaVision showrunner incorporated some elements of the abandoned plot into Darcy’s eventual arc. Given Kat Dennings’ role as comic relief, the subplot would’ve been right in line with her character, but the personal storyline could’ve distracted viewers from the complex storytelling in the series. All in all, Dennings’ ultimate role in the television series was perfect for the show-within-show plot.
And luckily, Kat Dennings was down for whatever, as she told Rolling Stone she didn’t expect to return to the MCU after eight years. And what seems to have excited her the most is the fact that Darcy is an astrophysicist.
While knowing more about Darcy Lewis’s personal life would’ve been exciting, Kat Dennings’ WandaVision return was definitely satisfying. Darcy’s quick wit and irreverent humor made some of the series’ darker moments palatable, and maybe her return means more MCU adventures to the witty astrophysicist. To get more of your Darcy Lewis fix, you can stream the Marvel series on Disney+ now.
