Thor: Love and Thunder is the collaboration of old-school and new-school Thor movies in the MCU. Taika Waititi returns behind the camera (and as the voice of Korg) to bring that Thor: Ragnarok vibe that completely renamed the character. Additionally, Jane Foster returns to the franchise after missing Ragnarok, and with her comes the additional players attached. Notably, WandaVision star Kat Dennings as Dr. Darcy Lewis.
Darcy was first introduced as Jane Foster’s comedic assistant intern in Thor (2011). Dennings reprized her in the same role in Thor: The Dark World. But in the first project of Phase 4, Darcy was nudged into the broader MCU in her first non-Thor franchise appearance. In WandaVision, Darcy was brought back with a PhD in Astrophysics to help SWORD research the Westview Anamoly.
Darcy played a significant role on WandaVision as an ally to Monica Rambeau and Jimmy Woo, and as a liaison for Vision. Having witnessed the events of the Disney+ series, Darcy has had a wild journey since fans last saw her in Thor: The Dark World. So when she arrives to support her friend Jane in Thor: Love and Thunder, you’d think she wouldn’t be able to shut up about The Hex.
Thor: Love And Thunder ignores WandaVision events
Marvel Studios
When Darcy Lewis appears in Thor: Love and Thunder, she brings her patented lightness to an otherwise emotional and somber scene. Jane Foster receives cancer treatment and reveals to the audience that The Mighty Thor’s story was adapted from the comics. Darcy sits down and chats with Jane about her treatment, her approach to fighting this thing and of course how attractive Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is.
Remarkably, this conversation lacks any reference to Darcy’s experience in Westview as seen in WandaVision. This is very uncharacteristic of Darcy as she has traditionally been something of a chatterbox. However, old Darcy would have found a way to mention her experience with SWORD at any given opportunity.
But with that brief cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, there’s no mention other than a slight hint of her essence “very busy” lately. So why shouldn’t Taika Waititi and his team allow fans to feel the connection with a subtle mention of Westview or SWORD or Wanda or Jimmy Woo or anything Dr. Darcy Lewis happened in WandaVision?
So many stories, not enough time
Marvel Studios
The simplest explanation for this reference omission is simply time. Thor: Love and Thunder is one of the shortest MCU films to date at just under two hours, and it’s very short. The running time of this film already hinders its ceiling by not allowing certain plot points to be fleshed out according to their importance. Namely, the solid lines of the wishing well qualities of Eternity and Gorr’s Daughter. So it makes sense that Darcy didn’t have enough time to drop WandaVision references.
There are also some questions about the film’s tonal consistency, with a very melancholy cancer story woven into such a hyper-comedic tone throughout the film. Taika Waititi is usually a master of this balance and tries it again here. Maybe Taika didn’t want to distract from the few serious beats in the first half of the film.
Protect Jane Foster
Marvel Studios
Another reason could be that Darcy knows that if Jane found out about the events of WandaVision, it would be another excuse for her to focus on working on her battle with cancer. Darcy spends this cameo appearance trying to convince Jane that she should stop working, seek outside help, and either make an effort to fight this disease or enjoy the time she has left. Perhaps Foster’s former intern wanted to keep her adventures to herself to prevent her friend from doing what she does best, which is makeover.
The holes become clear when you look at the circumstances. For example, when SWORD recruits Darcy Lewis as an astrophysicist to help with the Westview Anamoly, it is assumed that they approached the leader in the field first. Of course it was Dr. Jane Foster. So there’s a good chance Jane already knows about the WandaVision events, but that’s not set in stone.
Protection of Wanda Maximoff
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Darcy forms a trio of rebels within the SWORD machine along with Monica Rambeau and Jimmy Woo as they are the only ones willing to hear Wanda’s side of the story in WandaVision. As an Avenger and someone who has played a significant role in saving the world on multiple occasions, it’s easy to see why these three are sympathetic. Additionally, Darcy, Monica, and Jimmy have had clashes with various Avengers in Thor, Carol Danvers, and Ant-Man, respectively, in the past.
Maybe Darcy thinks that the more people know about Wanda, the less chance there is of her righting her wrongs in Wandavision.
However, this theory only assumes that Darcy is unaware of the events of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Even if Darcy knew that Wanda probably didn’t make it out of this movie alive, it’s hard to believe that she would still stand up for her knowing all the horrible things she’s done IN ADDITION to everything what happened in Westview, New Jersey.
protect yourself
Marvel Studios
After all, there’s a good chance Darcy won’t be able to talk about these events because SWORD wants to keep everything a secret. In WandaVision as Tyler Hayward, everything seemed very out of the book, and his team was aggressive with Wanda Maximoff. Therefore, Darcy might not be legally able to discuss what happened under SWORD commands.
This doesn’t carry much weight as Darcy was the one who stopped Hayward and announced he was going to jail. Darcy doesn’t seem like the type to stick to rules like that anyway. She even has a scene in Thor: The Dark World where she reveals secret information before Jane’s date in London.
So there is no confirmed reason why the events of WandaVision weren’t mentioned in Thor: Love and Thunder. The simple and boring answer is that there wasn’t enough time and it wasn’t relevant to the story being told. But the funny answer is that Darcy Lewis has a super exciting life full of astro spy tricks that she keeps from her close friend Jane Foster. Keep an eye out for the potential (but unlikely) Disney+ spinoff Agents of SHIELD, starring Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo.