Remember that small breaking the fourth wall scene in Vampires Suck, where the female vampire was recast? The fifth episode of WandaVision gave the same vibe. Moreover, it also proved the rumor true that Evan Peters was appearing. The last few minutes of the episode showed Peters returning as the Quicksilver Pietro Maximoff, with Darcy explicitly stating that he was recast.
At least one thing looks for sure – that there won’t be a crossover of MCU with the X-Men series. That would have been messy at this point. But what if? What if Aaron Taylor-Johnson pops out from nowhere, replacing Evan Peters? Sounds worse than the crossover already? Hold that thought for a while because this is kind of possible.
Evan Peters’ Return as Pietro
Originally in X-Men series, Peters played ‘Peter Maximoff’. In the WandaVision series, he is ‘Pietro Maximoff’. Moreover, the ‘recast’ statement makes it quite clear what Peters is not portraying. Looking back on episode 4, we can see that the world is Wanda’s creation, where Vision is alive and life could not be better. Vision is actually dead. Just before that, she ejects Monica when she mentions Ultron.
Vision actually dead plus the mentioning of Ultron. Then add the latest episode where she talks about Pietro with her kids. Evan Peters’ return as Johnson’s Quicksilver, as commented by showrunner Jac Schaeffer, gels with the ‘real-or-not-real’ environment. His casting also plays homage to earlier times when recasts could happen with less fuss and also to the one character in sitcoms stirring things up in the family.
What if Aaron Taylor-Johnson Returns?
As mentioned before, Vision is a part of the illusion. Because she said in episode 5 that she can’t bring people back from the dead, Aaron’s Quicksilver could be a part of another universe where he does not die and Hawkeye dies instead. The Evan Peters return could be an unintentional recast by Wanda. This could introduce the multiverse here and probably a speedster face-off.
Connecting to the previous theory, Peters’ Pietro could be a part of someone else’s plan. Meaning Wanda did not bring him back and in reality, he is not his brother but totally someone else masquerading as Pietro. In this case, time will tell whether he is the nemesis or simply the accomplice.
Secondly, this could also be a way to play with Wanda’s mind by the villain, by showing two versions of her brothers, both being illusions. It would cause her mind to run wilder, causing further cracks in reality and probably the multiverse. The situation can go with the fact that Wanda’s world is not fully in her control.
Another thing that can come into play is that both Quicksilvers are from alternate realities. Johnson’s return would be on the same grounds mentioned before and Peters’ one could be an alternate X-Men universe. This avoids the crossover and can get X-Men officially introduced in MCU.
Could Aaron Taylor-Johnson Return?
In 2019, Aaron Taylor-Johnson said in an interview that they won’t get to see Quicksilver anytime soon. He did not completely deny the possibility despite his character getting killed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, saying he was open to the idea. But he did express that the team had not approached him yet.
Johnson has been a part of a number of projects like Tenet(2020), The King’s Man, and Bullet Train at this time. So whether schedule or simply willing, his return seems unlikely for now. But there seems to be no reason for MCU to not bring him back. There are places where he can come back. If he returns now, things could go crazy.
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