WandaVision star Teyonah Parris on landing the Marvel show and navigating through the character arc of Monica Rambeau

If you initially had a hard time wrapping your mind around WandaVision and its post-Avengers portrait of grief, which masquerades as homages to classic sitcoms, you’re not alone. “I had actually been fan-cast as Monica Rambeau years prior on Twitter, so I started doing my own research on the character then.” Those who have been keeping tabs on the MCU will recognize the character Monica Rambeau from the 2019 film Captain Marvel, in which Akira Akbar played the young Monica, the precocious daughter of the title hero’s best friend, Maria Rambeau. “But then with a flash of that smile, we can see the mischievous little girl underneath.” In comparing herself to Monica, Parris said she shares the character’s ambition and bold, unapologetic nature. “But I don’t know that I would want to know so badly that I would lean into something so bizarre.” Despite her initial confusion about WandaVision, Parris was drawn to Monica’s depth, she said, and to the fact that this secondary character is presented as “a full-fledged, nuanced human being.” “She is there, by nature, serving this larger story of Wanda and Vision,” she said. “You just felt seen — I’m very honoured and excited to continue that.” Monica already has an official hashtag emoji on Twitter, in all its brown-skinned, natural-hair glory.