As for the episode itself, it's the first where we're truly shifting back and forth between Wanda's reality and SWORD, which works better for tension. We also see a more aware Vision--the leaked episode six footage giving us a good idea of where that leads (the other spoiler from that, the appearance of Evan Peters, is no longer a spoiler). Speaking of Peters, it turns out the oldest and most persistent rumour that he's Quicksilver is correct--what's not clear is why. Not only is Peters not the MCU's original Quicksilver, it's not clear he's the Fox version either (at least, not exactly). Peters has the hair coloration and colour-scheme of Aaron-Taylor Johnson (the hair is part silver rather than the full Fox silver); the accent is also different from Fox (perhaps hinting at the kind of changes we'll see in other Multiverse characters). Peters also knows who Wanda is--there is no Wanda in the Fox universe. There are a number of possible explanations for this (Wanda forcing it doesn't make sense--if she was consciously involved he'd be far more similar to the MCU Quicksilver). As for why it's the Peters version, I think it's because her brother died eight years ago and she can't bring him back (one of the points of Sparky's death), so instead we get a Quicksilver from another reality. The possibility remains that Evans is simply playing a role--that he's another character pretending to be Quicksilver--but for the moment we have no evidence for that. Occam's Razor is that he's simply the Fox Quicksilver and any variation can be explained away.
Another mystery which aerospace engineer did Monica wants to contact? It's unlikely to be a generic character or else the show would have revealed the name, but who could it be? I've seen all sorts of speculation (mostly from the Fantastic Four IP, like Reed Richards), but I suspect it's someone more innocuous--perhaps a character associated with SWORD. We also still have no idea who the missing person Woo was looking for is--they have yet to be named, which implies it's important. It appears as though within the SWORD storyline, only Monica is getting an arc, with Woo and Darcy remaining in support.
Stamberg's distractingly weak performance continues. Lacking depth, Tyler will hopefully be jettisoned soon (I assume he won't survive the show). I was intrigued by the drama hinted at between Monica and Captain Marvel (my guess is there's resentment over Carol abandoning earth for space), as that's not expected. I was less happy with the Thanos comments, as one of the only weak points in Endgame is Carol fighting Thanos (someone whose powers are derived from the Space Stone should not be able to go toe-to-toe with the completed Infinity Gauntlet--this isn't an issue for Wanda, whose powers are simply unlocked or enhanced by the Mind Stone and has a strong emotional reason to fight him).
I like the approach they've taken with Vision, although I wonder if he's really Vision when he remembers nothing before his life in Westview. He's clearly not a puppet, as he can act and think independently, but how can that be? If Wanda can't resurrect him, how is he functioning? There's some wiggle room for Wonder Man here--as the consciousness grafted into Vision's body--but our tangible hints for him are lacking. It's also interesting that Wanda admits that she doesn't know how the Westview situation started (or, at least, doesn't remember).
I believe we can put to rest the many theories based on the ads within the show. This episode's was so unmistakable that we can safely say all four are simply expressions of past grief Wanda is dealing with. I don't like the theory that the two people in the ads are her parents--while the woman could be her mother, the man could not (unless he's an adopted father). This brings up the possibility that she was adopted, in which case anyone could have had the role and there's room for an MCU Magneto.
Something no one is asking: if Fury is in charge of SWORD, why was he permitting experimentation on Vision's body? If that was done without Fury's knowledge, how and why? I doubt these questions will be answered in the show, but I haven't seen anyone bring them up (the simplest answer is that in the three weeks since he was brought back from the Snap he's not up to speed).
The source revealed to me that her goal is to reunite with her family in this bubble sitcom world of hers. In WandaVision, she explained to her two boys that she cannot resurrect the dead. Given that limitation, she plucks her sibling from another reality, which explains the appearance of Peters. In Age of Ultron, the Scarlet Witch discovered that her parents were killed.... In the continuity of WandaVision, her dad had no powers. In the Fox universe, her father was Magneto. Since she is not capable of bring back that dad from the dead, into the multiverse she will go. The source told me that both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, both of whom played Magneto for Fox, were approached to return as Magneto in WandaVision. It is not known which actor accepted to appear in WandaVision or if the producers decided not to pursue that option.
The idea is plausible--we know Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman were approached for something similar. I can't see McKellen turning it down, but I don't know who they would approach first (I mentioned previously I'd rather see Fassbender)--I address the idea more below.
Something no one is asking is why SWORD isn't approaching any of the surviving Avengers for assistance. I think we can address most of that fairly quickly given the situation post-Endgame.
- Dead - Iron Man, Black Widow
- Injured/retired - Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther (due to whatever is happening with that character)
- In space - Thor, Captain Marvel
- On the run/grounded - Falcon, Bucky, War Machine (presumed), Hawkeye (presumed for his activities post-Infinity War)
- Unknown - Ant-Man, Wasp, Spider-Man
The three remaining have no association with Wanda and Peter Parker is too young regardless. I'm not including Fury because while he'd be a better operation manager than Tyler, he has no relationship with Wanda to work with.
For the last few days people have been trying to parse what Elizabeth Olsen meant with her answer for if WandaVision will have a 'Luke Skywalker' level cameo (something generally merged with Paul Bettany's comment that he gets to act with someone he's always wanted to work with). My favourite bit of speculation related to this is Magneto (it would certainly match the "I am your father" moment from Empire Strikes Back), although whether he would be played by Michael Fassbender or Ian McKellen is unclear (I'd rather see Fassbender--McKellen's already the aged and embittered iteration). Whether that's really what Olsen meant and whether that's attached to Bettany's comment, we really don't know--both actors might think that Peters' appearance qualifies (and why wouldn't they?). Episode five definitely added fuel to this fire.
A bit unrelated, but a comment came up via the show that I want to address: one of Murphy's buddies mentioned that the Young Avengers are fan-favourites and this is simply not true. The team doesn't register on popularity lists and can't support their own comic. I see this kind of lazy shorthand from fan sites all the time and it drives me nuts--if you are going to make a claim like that, back it up.
We had our first apparent merchandizing leak for Falcon and Winter Soldier, with a shirt that proclaims Sharon Carter is wanted for breaking the Sokovia Accords. If true, this means both Bucky and Falcon are also on the run (they've also broken the Accords).
Daniel dropped a casting list for Spider-Man 3 (it looks like it's from the fall, if not earlier; I've included just the interesting bits):
[PETER PARKER / SPIDERMAN 2] IN TALKS: Tobey Maguire
[PETER PARKER / SPIDERMAN 3] IN TALKS: Andrew Garfield
[GREEN GOBLIN / NORMAN OSBORN] ATTACHED: Willem Dafoe
[DOCTOR OCTOPUS] ATTACHED: Alfred Molina
[SANDMAN] ATTACHED: Thomas Hayden Church
[ELECTRO] ATTACHED: Jamie Fox
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 1] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 2] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 3] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[MARY JANE WATSON] IN TALKS: Kirsten Dunst
[GWEN STACY] IN TALKS: Emma Stone
[AGENT] Neutral 30s - 60s Male or Female.
They want someone who feels intimidating, not physically, but the last person you would want to be interrogated by. Ideally a strong theatre actor. Considering all ethnicities and it would be fun if this character felt like a New Yorker. Offer Out To Undisclosed Actor. Prototype EDIE FALCO
[DETECTIVE]
Male BIPOC, age is fluid
Interest In MICHAEL K WILLIAMS
The latter two roles seem superfluous given how much screen time will be eaten-up by all the Multiverse characters (as well as Doctor Strange and Wanda). This doesn't tell us much, which is probably why Daniel finally released it (it confirms Church's appearance). There's also missing characters from this list (the aforementioned MCU heavies, as well as people like Charlie Cox). For those concerned about Emma Stone's pregnancy, that could easily be written into the character (as for why she's alive, given that she died in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the Multiverse can answer the question). I'll reiterate that I think the Sony IP appearances are one-and-done for the MCU.
After this dropped a Redditor put up posts from someone else that mods approved of--someone whose friend works as part of the Marvel crew on Spider-Man 3. This original poster deleted everything subsequently, but the key points were recorded:
- The first scene is a news broadcast discussion, kinda like a debate, about Spider-Man accusations. They also talk about Peter Parker. They plan to do a running gag where New Yorkers give their opinion on Spider-Man (similar to that scene in Spider-Man 1 with people giving their opinions on the street)
- Spider-Man saves a disabled woman.
- The set built for the third act took almost 3 months to build. They're going all out.
- Peter Parker's relationship with Michelle will not continue beyond this film.
The most interesting element to me is jettisoning Michelle. I would thrilled to say goodbye to her (a thinly written character inserted for romance; Zendaya is a lot like Natalie Portman for me--less is more, but preferably none)--the idea would also match Sutton's belief that in his college years, Spider-Man is in the midst of a love triangle involving Firestar and Black Cat. That aside, these are plausible ideas and while we can't say definitively that this is valid, at least Reddit mods thought the guy was credible.
In a related note, Crazy Days and Nights claims Rege-Jean Page is being considered as the lead protagonist in Black Panther 2. I've never heard of the site before and its primary content is Hollywood gossip (which may or may not be real). Regardless, no one else has suggested the actor, so it's something to keep an eye on.
Sutton offered an update to his old Hulk vs Wolverine film idea (cf). The change is that now the Red Hulk will also appear in the film pursuing Bruce Banner--this being General Ross (despite William Hurt's age--granted, the actor only needs to provide the voice). Sutton says this won't be Red Hulk's reveal--that will happen in an earlier show/film.
Dietsch continues the flag-waving for Chloe Bennet, saying Quake is "in consideration' to be part of the cast in Secret Invasion. This rumour comes from one source whose supposed prior scoops aren't that impressive. With that said, could the MCU use the actress and character? Yes. My opposition to the idea is Sutton's notion that AoS continuity will be rammed into the universe--something no one wants.
In a very minor update (cf), Sutton says Moon Knight will fight Luke Cage for some reason (presumably the heroes-must-fight trope)--both seemingly part of the new Avengers lineup. Sutton says the former will be brought into the group for his knowledge about Kang, while admitting he has no idea if Mike Colter will return to play Luke Cage (this hesitation about Colter was not the case a year ago).
Murphy was wondering who is the next leader of SWORD (understandably dismissive of Tyler) and offers five potential choices:
- Monica Rambeau - I don't think the role would suit the future superhero, especially if the plans are to have her available to join Carol on adventures
- Carol Danvers - This makes no sense whatsoever
- Abigail Brand - A popular character in rumours, but Murphy points out that she's a mutant which may put her on hold (this seems less of a hang-up given Peters' appearance in WandaVision)
- Henry Gyrich - If Marvel wants to set up SWORD in a sinister way, this would make perfect sense
- Adam Brashear - Sutton gave us Blue Marvel rumours this summer and I could see it (with or without powers); if so I suspect the MCU will clean-up his convoluted background (he's like Neil Breen in Double Down) and lower his power level
In the grand scheme of things I don't care who has the role--I have no investment in SWORD--but Gyrich seems like the most fun character to use if the organization is going to have a villainous slant.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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