IC News

The release of “WandaVision” on Disney+ marked the beginning of a new era for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the series has been a critical and commercial success, thanks in no small part to alumni Mackenzie Dohr ’11 and Greg Dunbar ’10, who spoke to the public on March 24 for the “Storytelling Through the Lens of WandaVision” event hosted by the Roy H. Park School of Communications.

The event was moderated by Steven Ginsberg, associate professor and Pendleton Endowed Chair of the college’s Los Angeles Center and Nick Sagan, assistant professor of media arts, sciences and studies.

Dohr, who is the show’s executive story editor, praised the college’s strong liberal arts background, which allowed her to take courses in several schools while earning her degree in culture and communication.

“I knew I wanted to work in television and film, but didn’t know what specifically I wanted to do,” she said. “So being able to take courses like psychology, history, and writing in addition to my communications courses was great. At IC, there are so many opportunities to take classes you never imagine you’ll be interested in. Part of the reason I am where I am now is because I gave myself that time to explore.”

After working internships and odd jobs in the industry, Dohr sold her first pilot to ABC in 2015, and has worked on shows including “The Mindy Project” and “Locke and Key,” before joining the “WandaVision” creative team in 2019.

“I feel like in my career I just keep wanting to do the next cool thing, and I wait for the right opportunities,” she said. “I’m very lucky to be at that place now.”

After graduating with a degree in cinema and photography and a minor in integrated marketing communications, Dunbar was unsure of the direction he wanted his career to take. He joined the International Radio and Television Society Fellowships and was placed in a field marketing internship at Disney.

“I was running advanced screenings of films,” he said, “but it didn’t scratch my creative itch and it didn’t make sense to me when I was seeing all the incredible marketing happening on the Internet at the time.”

Dunbar eventually realized that social media marketing was where he was meant to be.  He is now a director of digital marketing for Walt Disney Studios, and supervised the creation of “WandaVision’s” critically acclaimed social media presence, which has amassed nearly 900,000 followers on Instagram.