What Pietro Showing Up on ‘WandaVision’ Could Mean for the MCU
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1 of WandaVision.]
WandaVision has had some intriguing twists and turns, but one of the most exciting is the arrival of Pietro, Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) brother. Or is he? And if he’s not, is he there to break open the whole MCU multiverse?
Let’s look at the facts. Wanda’s “brother,” on WandaVision, is played by Evan Peters, but Aaron Taylor Johnson played Pietro in the Marvel film Avengers: Age of Ultron — and he was killed by Ultron (James Spader). As for Peters, he’s shown up on four separate occasions on Fox’s X-Men franchise, portraying Quicksilver, aka Pete Maximoff.
This could be some insider-y coincidence, or Quicksilver’s Westview appearance could be the beginning of Marvel’s Multiverse crossover; after Disney purchased Fox in 2019, it inherited the rights to X-Men, which, of course, allows for such opportunities.
As for what was happening before Pietro showed up, things were getting weirder. Vision (Paul Bettany) is beginning to realize that something is seriously wrong. When he presses Wanda about her having a potential role in controlling Westview, she brushes him off, though she eventually, and cryptically, admits that she doesn’t “know how any of this started in the first place.”
20th Century Fox Film Corp., courtesy of Everett Collection; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, courtesy Everett Collection
When the doorbell rings, Vision, upset, believes Wanda has just found a way to avoid their discussion. When Wanda says she has nothing to do with whoever’s at the door, Vision is unconvinced.
Enter Pietro. Or “Pietro.” And the possibility that characters from Marvel’s alternate universes might enter the world Disney’s MCU fans have come to know.
Earlier this year, Marvel’s Kevin Feige even teased in an interview with Collider that Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, would at some point be making his MCU debut. Peters’ Quicksilver belongs to the same universe, as the mutant made a cameo in Deadpool 2. Considering where the MCU is heading, a multiverse twist like this makes a lot of sense.
Disney+/Marvel
One of the company’s next big films is Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Another film sparking multiverse talk is Spider-Man 3, which will reportedly see the return of villains like Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jamie Foxx), both of whom appear in separate Spider-Man film series at Sony, with Molina in Sam Raimi’s version and Foxx in Marc Webb’s. (Marvel’s Spider-Man star Zendaya seemed to confirm Molina’s role in a chat with Carey Mulligan for Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” series.)
And, for fans of Raimi’s Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man: Far From Home included a cameo from one of that franchise’s characters, J.K. Simmons‘ J. Jonah Jameson, the editor in chief of The Daily Bugle. Simmons portrayed the character in the Tobey Maguire films, but only made a post-credits appearance in Tom Holland’s most recent film.
Yes, it’s an exciting time to be a Marvel fan — and so, of course, a WandaVision fan. Is Peters’ role also a sign that WandaVision will delve into Wanda’s mutant comic book roots, which would make her the daughter of X-Men‘s Magneto?
Let’s wait and see.
WandaVision, Streaming now, Disney+
