‘WandaVision’: There’s a Totally Unplanned ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Connection, But Was Just a Coincidence According To Emma Caulfield
Up until before WandaVision premiered, the public didn’t know that Emma Caulfield had a role in the Disney+/Marvel series. It was the first series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is pretty important in establishing what happens next in Scarlet Witch’s life as well as the next phase of the franchise.
While it doesn’t seem like Caulfield plays a supernatural or superhuman role just yet, her character is onto Wanda’s unusual presence in Westview. And some fans thought they saw a Buffy the Vampire Slayer connection. However, it was all a coincidence. [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for WandaVision].
Emma Caulfield plays Dottie, who senses something’s off about Wanda
Caulfield made her debut as Dottie at a meeting for a fundraising “For The Children” event, where Wanda and Vision would perform a “fake” magician set. Dottie is uptight and very thorough in how she wants things done, and as stated above, she seems suspicious and disapproving of Wanda. So much so, that even Wanda goes up and asks Dottie what her issue is.
This is when Dottie tells her that she just doesn’t trust her. And that’s when Jimmy Woo tries to speak to Wanda through the radio. It freaks them both out, throwing Dottie off and out of their reality and she shatters a glass, making her bleed red blood in a black and white world.
Wanda rewinds the incident, as she does with other instances that don’t suit her desired outcome, but Dottie is still not warm to Wanda. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like Dottie is a threat to Scarlet Witch and Vision’s quaint suburban lifestyle. At least not in the superhuman sense.
There’s a bunny that seemed to be a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ callback, but it’s just a coincidence
Now, if you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then you definitely know by now that Caulfield played Anya, the vengeful demon that grew to be a vital member of the Scooby Gang. She started off as a demon who lost her powers and became mortal, then who was hooking up with Xander. Then Anya became more a part of Buffy and friends’ little family, and her eventual arc became one of the best on the show. One of the funnier bits surrounding Anya was the fact that she’s deathly afraid of bunnies.
That’s why, in the second episode, when Agnes brings a rabbit for Wanda and Vision to use in their vanishing magic act, some fans thought it was a fun little nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anya’s fear of bunnies. However, that’s unfortunately not the case.
“Total coincidence, man,” Caulfield told ComicBook.com on Feb. 3. “Meant nothing. Everyone’s like, ‘That was the plan.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t think it was, Jac [Schaeffer, the showrunner], I think would have told me.’”
Caulfield said she texted Schaeffer about it because she was “getting asked” a lot about the bunny and the significance of it, since that’s also the first episode that Dottie appears in. But, she said that “as far as [she] knows” it was intentional. But Schaeffer hadn’t given an answer yet at the time of the interview, so who really knows, right?
This isn’t the first time Caulfield’s worked with the ‘WandaVision’ showrunner
Speaking of Schaeffer, this isn’t her first Marvel project or project with Caulfield. On the MCU front, she was a screenwriter on Captain Marvel and Black Widow. And with Caulfield, she wrote, produced, and directed the film TIMER which Caulfield starred in. The film revolves around a clock that ticks down the hours until someone meets their soulmate.
“Yeah, we wanted to work together since then. We just never got a chance to do it. And I absolutely worship her,” Caulfield said when asked if her and Schaeffer’s previous film together impacted their desire to work together again. “We were friends, you know, we just became close from the time that we worked together and it just really worked out.”
Caulfield described how Schaeffer called her and told her that she wanted Caulfield to “come play” on her show, although she couldn’t tell her anything about it.
“‘You just need to go and meet Kevin Feige and just be your impressive self,’” Caulfield recalled Schaeffer telling her. “That was just it. I just went, and it was like the next day or two days I got the call and then I was in Atlanta. It was very quick, there were no big hoops.”
As Wanda, Vision, and the rest of Westview moves through the rest of the decades, it’ll be interesting to see if Dottie becomes even more suspicious of Wanda. And if there are any 90s callbacks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the coming episodes.
