Is WandaVision's Secret Cameo Wolverine?

BY MATT TUCK

WandaVision is paving the way for Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine, and he may just be that secret mind-blowing cameo.

I have theorized before that Blade could be the mysterious “Luke Skywalker” level cameo the series has planned for its finale. While I stand by the logic of my Blade theory, here is another possibility that would be monumental: Hugh Jackman’s triumphant return as Wolverine. 

It could happen, and the clues are all around if you know where to look.

SOMETHING STRANGE IS AFOOT IN WESTCHESTER

Let’s go back to January.

Only weeks before Evan Peters made his grand entrance on WandaVision, a Digital Spy interview with Sir Patrick Stewart was published on January 15. What piqued the interests of fans worldwide were his comments on the MCU. He went so far to say that he and Kevin Feige had conversations about Stewart reprising his role as Professor X for the MCU, though Sir Patrick said he rescinded the offer. 

If Patrick Stewart had conversations with Feige about bringing Professor X to the MCU, would it be too much to believe that Feige and Hugh Jackman have had discussions as well?

Hold on. Didn’t Jackman say he was retiring from portraying Wolverine after Logan? In fact, he did, but he told Screen Rant in 2017 that if the X-Men were to join the MCU, he would keep playing the character. 

Lo and behold, WandaVision didn’t just plant the seeds for the X-Men in the MCU; it uprooted a tree from the Fox-verse and deposited it in the middle of Westview.

IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT

Feige is known for his epic planning when constructing the MCU phases. The pieces are put in play well in advance of anything we see onscreen. To have Patrick Stewart bring to light Feige’s offer to have him as the MCU’s Charles Xavier at close to the same time as Evan Peters’ sort-of-portrayal as Quicksilver on WandaVision is too much of a coincidence. 

Then there is Spider-Man 3 and Morbius. Those two films directly connect the Sony-verse’s Spider-Man franchises to the MCU, proving that Marvel Studios is onboard with sharing toys with the neighbors’ kids.

All of this happens to fall within the same general time frame that Patrick Stewart reveals he could return as Charles for the MCU’s X-Men if he so chooses. Then Evan Peters in character as Fox’s version of Quicksilver strolls through WandaVision’s front door on February 5’s air date just three weeks later. 

Is it a coincidence that all of this has timed out so close together? Not in the slightest.

What is more is the following episode saw Peters sport Wolverine-esque pointy hair that series director Matt Shakman purposely meant to resemble Logan’s iconic style. We will see if this was a simple nod to Quicksilver’s superstar teammate or a hint of things to come.

WandaVision squashed the dream of Fox’s X-Men cast making a grand MCU entrance...or did it?

Like the farce of a magic show performed by Vision and Wanda in the black and white second episode, it would appear that Evan Peters’ more-or-less cameo was just a magic trick. After the reveal of Agnes’ real identity, Agatha Harkness, it came to light that she had perpetrated his brief appearance. To what end? We will have to wait to find out. Alas, what it does confirm is that the X-Men are no closer to being admitted into the theme park that is the MCU. 

OR DOES IT?

There is no denying that Agatha was in control of the fake Quicksilver from the start (afterall, we got an entire song dedicated to Agatha’s literal powers of manipulation, and what kind of monster would lie to us through song?). We even see Agatha using her purple magical glow to conjure a Quicksilver lookalike at the Maximoff door. Even so, an episode earlier indicated something larger was at work with Pietro’s odd questioning of Wanda during the Halloween fun. When the big reveal of Agatha magically controlling her version of Quicksilver came to light, it dashed all the hope that this was indeed Quicksilver from the Fox-verse. 

As the catchy, upbeat song explained, it was Agatha all along.

NOT SO FAST, QUICKSILVER

There are still many questions to be answered here, and we may or may not get them in the final two episodes of WandaVision. Mine is this: why did Agatha choose the Fox Quicksilver rather than the MCU version? 

Yes, it is clear that Agatha conjured a Quicksilver replica to toy with Wanda’s emotions. Going back to Pietro’s questions with an ulterior motive, it appears Agatha, not Pietro, wanted some answers of her own. Either that, or she was attempting to go full on Inception and cement the idea that Wanda is responsible for controlling the population of Westview. But that does not explain why she would choose the Evan Peters Quicksilver.

WANDAVISIONS’ EPIC TROLLING

We have seen several times that the show’s creative team enjoys trolling Marvel theorists. The audience is even symbolized onscreen by Darcy Lewis as she watches the events of Westview unfold on an old fashioned television and even in her fourth-wall-breaking commentary when she refers to the shenanigans as “Wandavision.” Every episode of WandaVision is packed with Easter eggs and allusions that are obviously meant to feed the beast, and it is largely responsible for the show being such a major hit.

Be that as it may, it is not like Marvel Studios to toss in something so major just for fun at the expense of MCU prognosticators. 

HOPE FOR THE X-VERSE

Ignoring the possible meta commentary on behalf of the WandaVision writers and producers, there is more behind Evan Peters’ appearance than a one-off Wanda mind melt. 

Back to my question: why would Agatha choose the Fox Quicksilver? Obviously, Wanda would not immediately recognize him as her dead brother. From Agatha’s standpoint, choosing the Aaron Taylor-Johnson Quicksilver from Age of Ultron would have had far more emotional impact. Generally speaking, it simply would have made more sense. That in itself could have psychologically broken Wanda, if that was Agatha’s goal.

Could it be that Agatha is aware of the X-Men and has even interacted with them? With her magical powers, we can assume that she knows all about the multiverse. It is possible that she can access the X-Men’s pocket of the multiverse. This could mean that the reason she chose the form of Evan Peters for her projection was because that was the Quicksilver she was most familiar with, especially if she had been interacting with the Wanda Maximoff alluded to in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

A WOLVERINE CAMEO?

Elizabeth Olsen acknowledged that the major cameo is at the level of Mandalorian’s Luke Skywalker entrance to that series. Paul Bettany famously said there is still an unknown cameo with an actor he has never worked with. Guess who Bettany has never co-starred with? Hugh Jackman.

With no disrespect to Blade or Marshala Ali, who would make for the better “Luke Skywalker” moment: Ali’s Blade or Jackman’s Wolverine? Both characters would send shockwaves through the MCU, but heads would explode if Jackman popped the claws in Westview. There is no other character who could have such an impact, not even the Fantastic Four.

Here’s to waiting for the internet to explode at the finale of WandaVision and that massive cameo the cast keeps hyping.

Matt Tuck is the author of the novel, Lost Bones of the Dead. He is also a teacher, freelance writer, comic collector, and an international man of mystery. You can follow him on his Facebook page, The Comic Blog.