Star of 'Wandavision’ Emma Caulfield Talks About The Dottie Theories and Joining the MCU

Emma Caulfield, who plays Wandavision’s mysterious and somewhat malevolent matriarch-monarch ‘Dottie’ is no stranger to immense fandoms. Caulfield was an integral component and beloved member of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer ensemble for over 80 episodes. You can throw a proverbial dart into the virtual landscape of Twitter or Reddit and find die hard fans for any fictional world these days, but Caulfield had cult status before the internet made it common. Her impressive television career, which Caulfield herself feels is ‘unbelievable’, has included a reoccurring role on Beverly Hills 90210, Once Upon a Time and a recent stint on Fear the Walking Dead. Caulfield could headline half a dozen spots in any science-fiction convention purely based on the roles she’s had in her past.

But now? She’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She’s on Disney+. This isn’t just the big leagues, this is the league. This is the model that all studios now try to emulate, whether they admit it or not; a cinematic universe that spans throughout multi-media streams. Disney was already as unstoppable as the X-Men’s Juggernaut (who ironically they now own the cinematic rights to), but in recent years, the formation of Disney+, and massively successful original programming such as The Mandalorian, has once again raised the bar and reevaluated what it means to be successful.

Caulfield, partial to science-fiction herself admitted becoming a cast member of the MCU was eye opening. “The first day of work walking on to the Marvel set, it's so massive. It's [a] living, breathing organism. It's just this mammoth. I'm trying to think of a word big enough that would encompass the size and magnitude of Marvel, but I can't really come up with anything. I need a poet”. This barely describes the ‘massive’ the attention Wandavision has been getting. The show is critical for so many reasons; it is the first original Marvel show to stream on Disney+, it is an integral part to the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel and the expansion of this already mammoth universe, and it is the only taste of the MCU that fans have been able to get in the pandemic, with Black Widow being pushed back and other productions being postponed.

The last time Caulfield was a part of a fandom this massive, in her Buffy days, the internet was still in its infancy. She’s discovering first hand what it means to be a part of this mammoth creative machine, and Caulfield admitted to reading dozens of theories about Dottie. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, this veteran of the small screen was not letting anything leak about Dottie’s true identity. When asked how much research she had to do to delve into her character, as the Marvel canon is encyclopedic at this stage in history, Caulfield simply stated “I just listened to Jac [Creator and writer Jac Schaeffer], I just listened to the writer[s] and I listened to [Series Director Matt Shaman] and I did what they told me to do… and information that was told to be relevant… I made relevant”. This is a purposefully vague an extremely clever answer to who or what Dottie could possibly be within the magical world of Westview. This character has the potential to reshape a large chunk of the MCU and its future.

The show remains steeped in mystery, even though we got a tiny peak behind the curtain in Episode 4. Theories about Dottie talk about her being Clea another sorcerous from the Doctor Strange mythos, or even as large a player as Mephisto, the Marvel Devil, who could undoubtedly become the next ‘big bad’ in the MCU. With Caulfield only appearing in one or two more episodes (at least as reported on IMDB) her true identity could be revealed very soon, and there are millions of fans who can’t wait to see what that reveal will be.

In the meantime, Emma gives her tips on surviving the lockdown, much like Dottie survives what seems to be an imprisoned existence for many of the characters in Westview. “Wine, for sure. Just coping like a [having] a bath, and some wine. Take the time hide in the bathroom. The fact that I got to work at all during the pandemic was in a miracle when we started …so I knew how lucky that was.”

Wandavision continues to stream on Disney+ - new episodes available for streaming on Friday’s. Be sure to check out the full interview below: