Warning: SPOILERS for WandaVision episode 5.
Evan Peters' Quicksilver appears in WandaVision episode 5, so does that make Fox's X-Men movies part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon now? Fox's X-Men franchise officially reached an end in 2020 with the release of The New Mutants. The 20-year franchise made up of a messy continuity came to a close due to Walt Disney Studios acquiring 20th Century Fox, which reverted the rights of the X-Men and Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios.
The MCU is expected to do a hard reset when it comes to incorporating mutants or Marvel's First Family, but that won't be universally true. Ryan Reynolds is coming back to play Deadpool in Deadpool 3, which will be set in the MCU. However, WandaVision episode 5 managed to use Fox's X-Men franchise in a completely different way. The Disney+ show has recently been setting up the possible return of Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver, as his death is heavily tied to the grief Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) carries. WandaVision episode 5 made more references to the fact that Wanda had a brother, and he officially appeared at the very end. Instead of Aaron Taylor-Johnson coming back as the character he played in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Quicksilver shown is played by Evan Peters from Fox's X-Men franchise.
Evan Peters has long been rumored to be part of WandaVision's cast, but it wasn't clear how Marvel Studios would use him. Fans speculated he could be a new character, like the show's expected villain Mephisto. The majority of people, though, wanted to see Peters play Quicksilver in the MCU. His version of Quicksilver is one of the highlights of Fox's soft X-Men reboot, and many preferred his take to what the MCU did. As exciting as it is to see Peters playing Quicksilver again in the MCU, it does raise several questions about how WandaVision potentially ties the MCU and Fox's X-Men franchise together.
Evan Peters' appearance as Quicksilver immediately begs the question if the version of Quicksilver shown in WandaVision is the same as the one he played in four X-Men movies. His scene in WadnaVision episode 5 is quite short, so the conversation between him and Wanda isn't too revealing. Wanda doesn't immediately recognize him, and Pietro has to be the one to mention that he's her "long-lost bro." While there's even a mention by Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) that Pietro has been "recast," WandaVision doesn't clear up exactly how this Quicksilver is connected to the MCU or Fox's X-Men franchise. However, the audio description for this scene on Disney+ provides some clarity. It says, "Wanda stares at the version of Pietro from the X-Men films."
The audio description specifically calls Peters' Quicksilver the one from X-Men, which establishes at least some connection between the MCU and Fox's Marvel franchise. Pietro even looks somewhat the same thanks to the 1980s setting of the episode. He does talk differently, but that could be a product of whatever is happening in Westview. While this all does lend some credence to the idea that this is the exact same Quicksilver from Fox's X-Men, that doesn't mean that franchise is now MCU canon. It is improbable that WandaVision will make Fox's entire franchise or even just sections of it part of the main MCU continuity.
WandaVision has only just begun to explore how and why Pietro is in Westview, and there are several possibilities to explain what is going on. At the very least, this could be the beginning of the MCU loosely connecting to Fox's X-Men franchise through the power of the multiverse. Since WandaVision episode 5 states not even Wanda can bring living things back from the dead, she couldn't bring Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver back even if she wanted to potentially. While she claims she didn't bring this Pietro to Westview, someone else could have done it for her. Instead of this mysterious person reviving Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver, the version played by Evan Peters could be reached through the multiverse instead.
The endless possibilities of the multiverse, though, raise another potential hold up regarding if this Quicksilver is really the one from Fox's X-Men. The idea of a multiverse means there are infinite universes and timelines where events unfolded differently. With no prior connection made between Fox's X-Men and the MCU, this version of Quicksilver could be from a parallel universe to Fox's X-Men movies without being the one from the main franchise.
WandaVision episode 5 makes sure to clear one thing up when it comes to Evan Peters' Quicksilver; this isn't the same one that has been in the MCU before. Marvel Studios has had to recast characters over the years and is even beginning to use a few actors for multiple roles in Phase 4. Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as Hulk was done without the MCU acknowledging the change. Iron Man 2 was self-aware enough to include a meta-reference to Don Cheadle taking over as War Machine. Now that Peters is back as Quicksilver, WandaVision confirms this isn't the same kind of recasting.
Darcy is the only one shown to see Pietro's appearance at Wanda and Vision's house, and she immediately is confused that Wanda recast her own brother. This might once again be WandaVision using Darcy to react the way viewers are at home, but it's an important line in the discussion about Fox's X-Men being MCU canon. If Peters was stepping into the role of Quicksilver to replace Aaron Taylor-Johnson, then WandaVision wouldn't have acknowledged that he suddenly looks different. Instead, Darcy is stumped about this decision, and even Wanda and Vision don't recognize him.
Evan Peters returning as Quicksilver in WandaVision comes right as the MCU is gearing up to explore the multiverse. Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 is a prime example of this, as there are multiple actors from past Spider-Man films reportedly returning. The rumors range from Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx playing Doc Ock and Electro, respectively, again to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as their versions of Spider-Man. Emma Stone and Kirsten Dunst have also been linked, with Charlie Cox even rumored to be back as Daredevil after his Netflix show ended. All of these potential cameos come with one caveat, though; they might not be the same versions fans have seen before.
The MCU doesn't have a perfect continuity, but Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige have managed to mostly keep the canon under control to this point. This will become much more challenging as the multiverse expands and if actors from prior non-MCU Marvel movies return as new versions of their old characters. With Spider-Man: Homecoming 3, Doc Ock and Electro were both believed to be dead by the end of their respective films. Meanwhile, Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy definitively died at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Marvel Studios could make all past Marvel movies tangentially related to the MCU potentially, but actively trying to continue those older franchises seems less likely. That might be why some of these character returns play out similarly to J.K. Simmons' return as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: Far From Home. The MCU can benefit by using great casting choices of the past without worrying about previous movies' baggage or storylines.
Obviously, the MCU has yet to get to this point during WandaVision, but this thought process could be tied to Evan Peters' Quicksilver. There's no guarantee that the MCU makes Fox's X-Men movies canon with this appearance. Instead, the safer play for them would be to make this Quicksilver one from a completely different universe. This would allow Marvel to cherry-pick what else they might want to borrow from the X-Men's past iterations instead of being forced to stick to stories Marvel Studios didn't create.
Before fans ultimately get too excited about the possibility of Evan Peters' Quicksilver being from Fox's X-Men franchise, there is also the reality that the truth behind WandaVision remains a huge mystery. Wanda confesses that she has no idea how this new life started and tells Vision that she didn't control the world to the point of bringing someone to their door in the middle of an argument. This person turns out to be Evan Peters' Quicksilver, which suggests that he is not under her control like the rest of Westview.
With everything and everyone in Westview taking on a different look or identity, there is a genuine chance that Evan Peters' Quicksilver isn't even really Pietro. He could be a random resident of Westview who has had his appearance changed to play Pietro since the real one can't be there. There is even the possibility that Evan Peters' character is actually someone like Mephisto, and he's altered his identity to mess with Wanda. If something like this is what is really going on in WandaVision, then the link between the MCU and Fox's X-Men films would only get smaller and, admittedly, more confusing to piece together.
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