That Big 'Wandavision' Twist Seems Like ... a Joke?

In the closing moments of this week's self-proclaimed "Very Special Episode" of Wandavision, Wanda and Vision pause their superpowered marital squabble when the doorbell rings. Wanda slowly approaches the door, opens it, and reveals ... a new meme!

Okay, actually, it's her brother Quicksilver -- but not the Quicksilver from the MCU's Age of Ultron, rather the one from the X-Men series played by Evan Peters. This caused a lot of people to speculate that Wandavision had "cracked the MCU open" and would be incorporating Fox's X-Men series into Marvel's continuity. This would also line up with the news that the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel explores the Multiverse, and the next Spider-Man movie will basically be a family reunion for estranged cinematic Spider-Men.

But, despite these epic prognostications, it kind of seems like Wandavision's Quicksilver casting is just kind of ... a joke?

For one thing, it seems doubtful that Marvel would want to touch the burning dumpster fire of nonsensical continuity that is the X-Men franchise with a 10-foot Adamantium claw. And this twist seems more in keeping with Wandavision's playful sitcom commentary than anything else. When Peters first shows up, Darcy remarks that Wanda "recast" her brother.

It's obviously a recurring motif throughout the history of sitcoms; there were two Aunt Vivs on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, two Beckys on Roseanne, and perhaps most famously, two Darrins on Bewitched, the show that has most served as the prime inspiration for Wanda's fantasy world.

And riffing on this trend with an actor familiar to audiences is an inspired meta gag, like when Scott Baio replaced Henry Winkler as the Bluth's lawyer on Arrested Development. Judging from a recent interview with Wandavision's showrunner Jac Schaeffer, it kind of seems like this decision was less of a grand overture into interdimensional, canon-busting storytelling and more of a fun way to bring back Peters as Quicksilver. Which makes sense; his Eurythmics-loving portrayal of the character was instantly beloved, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson's "Gap sweater model fronting a Eurotrash pop-punk band" take was undeniably less popular. 

Of course, we could totally be wrong; for all we know, the next episode of Wandavision will find Wanda and Vision downing lattes in Central Perk with Wolverine, Howard the Duck, and the Captain America played by J.D. Salinger's son.

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Top Image: Disney