Here's Why Marvel Fans Are *Freaking Out* About Evan Peters' 'WandaVision' Cameo
Warning: Major spoilers for WandaVision Season 1, Episode 5 follow. WandaVision is full of surprises, and Season 1, Episode 5 ended with one of the series' most shocking moments yet. Wanda Maximoff's dead brother Pietro (aka Quicksilver) showed up on her and Vision's doorstep, but he wasn't played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the actor who previously portrayed the character in the MCU movies. Instead, Pietro was recast as Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver in 20th Century Fox's recent X-Men movies. So what does Evan Peters' WandaVision role mean for Marvel? His appearance could signal some major changes.
Episode 5 of WandaVision saw Vision begin to realize the couple's idyllic family life was actually a false reality Wanda constructed to cope with the grief of losing her lover (Vision) and her brother (Pietro) in the movies. Just as Vision put together what was going on, though, he and Wanda were both surprised by the sudden appearance of Peters' Pietro.
The actor showing up in a Marvel show is a fun nod to WandaVision's sitcom world, since TV shows often recast characters with no warning. But his role also radically changes the MCU, because it makes it clear X-Men mutants can appear in Marvel properties now.
For context: Wanda and Pietro are both Avengers and X-Men in the comics, but the MCU didn't have the rights to the X-Men franchise until Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. Before that, Fox didn't mention the twins' ties to the MCU, and Marvel didn't mention that they were mutants. WandaVision playfully referenced this previous agreement in Episode 5, when Jimmy Woo insists Wanda doesn't have a "funny nickname" or alias.
Marvel president Kevin Feige previously promised the X-Men would eventually show up in the MCU and now they finally have. It certainly seems like Marvel characters have noticed this franchise discrepancy, too. Dr. Darcy Lewis, who was watching Wanda's sitcom from the S.W.O.R.D. base when Peter's character appeared, even exclaimed, "They recast Pietro?"
That means there could also be a superhero universe crossover going on in the show. Marvel has an upcoming movie called Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; plus, the new Spider-Man installment is rumored to include past Spider-Man actors. It looks like WandaVision is introducing a new multiverse into the MCU, and if the first five episodes are any indication, things are about to get even weirder.
New episodes of WandaVision hit Disney+ on Fridays.
