WANDAVISION’s Fake NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Is a Bad Omen

Michael Walsh
·4 min read
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It’s not always easy to tell which of WandaVision‘s many Easter eggs are just fun allusions, and which ones are meaningful clues. But a peculiar moment in the background of the show’s Halloween-inspired sixth episode stood out. The “Town Square Scare” included a public showing of an old black-and-white movie. On a first watch, it seemed obvious it was George A. Romero’s 1968 zombie horror classic Night of the Living Dead. But it wasn’t, even though the real movie is public domain. Marvel went to the trouble of using a decoy. And that’s an ominous sign of the terror that awaits Westview and its leading couple.

A wide shot of a town square decorated for Halloween with many people in costumes, as an old black and white movie plays on a screen in the background.
A wide shot of a town square decorated for Halloween with many people in costumes, as an old black and white movie plays on a screen in the background.

Marvel Studios

The old-timey horror movie didn’t get much screen time on WandaVision. It was only seen in brief flashes in the background during the sequence when Billy realized his father was in danger. Yet, despite its brevity and lack of prominence, it still featured multiple shots, locations, characters, and a hideous humanoid monster. That description sounds (and looked) exactly like the original Night of the Living Dead.

The film is an apt choice for the show. Wanda has turned the people of Westview into both the victims and monsters of Romero’s zombie classic. They are mindless creatures lacking autonomy who are also trapped in that proverbial house by a supernatural force. But the “Town Square Scare” wasn’t showing Romero’s movie. These are the first two images from WandaVision‘s version, which look like Night of the Living Dead.

Two black and white movie stills side by side. In the first a white man carries someone on his back. In the second, on the right, a Black man stands at the bottom of a staircase.
Two black and white movie stills side by side. In the first a white man carries someone on his back. In the second, on the right, a Black man stands at the bottom of a staircase.

Marvel Studios

These images resemble Night of the Living Dead, but there are distinct differences. None of the other images, shots, and actors match Romero’s movie. For instance, the colors of shirts and amount of hair on certain characters don’t match. And the fake version has a much more monstrous creature wandering alone inside the house, instead of outside in a horde.

Using a “fake” version wouldn’t be notable if not for a strange quirk that resulted in the 1968 Night of the Living Dead already being in the public domain. That’s why it’s frequently the go-to option for a background movie in other films and TV shows. Either Marvel shot original footage to look like Romero’s film, or the studio went digging for some obscure film no one recognizes. Neither is an easier option that just using Night of the Living Dead. The fact that Marvel elected not to use the iconic film at no cost is itself evidence that the fake movie is more than just a fun allusion.

The show’s creators knew viewers would overanalyze every frame for clues and meaning. By specifically choosing not to use the actual movie they were trying to evoke, they put giant blinking lights on their faux zombie film. It’s begging us to notice it. And if we’re supposed to notice it, it’s trying to tell us something. Unfortunately for Wanda and Vision, any foreshadowing hinted at by Night of the Living Dead points to an unhappy ending for them.

Two side by side frames from a black and white movie. On the left a man barricades a door with a large chair. On the right a monster walks up stairs.
Two side by side frames from a black and white movie. On the left a man barricades a door with a large chair. On the right a monster walks up stairs.

Marvel Studios

The most obvious, and maybe the most horrible, is that Vision is the living dead. Wanda has reanimated his corpse. Over the course of the season, he’s been slowly gaining independence from Wanda’s control. It has led him to escape in an effort to save “the people” of Westview. To stop that effort, Wanda expanded her control, ensnaring even more mindless beings in her trap.

How will Vision respond to this? How will he deal with his powerful wife harming so many innocent people? What if she loses complete control of a reanimated synthetic android? Not even she can predict what might might happen then. Could he be the living dead monster who attacks Wanda? (The main characters of Night of the Living Dead didn’t exactly get along either.) Is that why Marvel used a “counterfeit” version? To invert the roles, with the zombie serving as the hero?

Or is the lookalike movie foreshadowing the terror of Night of the Living Dead? Will Wanda find herself under siege? S.W.O.R.D. is sure to bring in more forces after her Westview expansion. And what about the mindless people she has trapped? In the same way Vision gained independence from her control, what will happen if they slowly start to earn some level of autonomy? Agnes and Herb already have. If the others do too, they might turn on Wanda, who will find herself surrounded, the same as the characters in George A. Romero’s seminal film.

Two side by side frames from a black and white movie. On the left a man barricades a living room window with a piano. On the right a hideous monster breaks down a metal barricade outside.
Two side by side frames from a black and white movie. On the left a man barricades a living room window with a piano. On the right a hideous monster breaks down a metal barricade outside.

Marvel

Or worse—could the main characters of WandaVision meet the same fate as the characters of the real Night of the Living Dead? None of them survived Romero’s movie. Not even Ben, the hero who lived through the night only to be mistaken for a monster in the morning.

Wanda conjured this fake movie in her phony reality. She had better hope it was a fun allusion, otherwise it’s a warning. The longer this nightmare goes on, the more likely it is that she and Vision will meet a tragic ending.

Featured Image: Marvel

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