OK, “WandaVision” fans, there’s good news and bad news in the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given your vulnerable hearts already on edge thanks to the last episode, I’ll give you the good news first. After all, what is trauma other than preserving with a show past the point of a horribly revealed spoiler? (no spoilers in this story, don’t worry).
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OK, so, let’s talk about Pietro. Played by Evan Peters—who also somewhat confusing played the same character in the 20th Century Fox iteration of the “X-Men” movies—as Agatha Harkness (Kathyrn Hahn) mentioned in the penultimate episode, calling him Fake Pietro, aka “Fietro,” Pietro is a charlatan and therefore not a Maximoff or an alternate version of Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson originally played the character in “Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” and spoiler, he died in that movie). So he’s not who he says he is, but that may not be the end of him.
In an interview with Fandom, “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman suggested there will be an ongoing future for the actor and character, whomever he really is. “I think there’s a strong possibility you might get a little more of Evan Peters coming up. But how that plays out, I wouldn’t want to say,” Shakman said. So that’s a strong yes, but without details, fair enough (we still have to find out what he did with Monica Rambeau in the final episode).
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And they did everything to keep his appearance secret. “We had to hide him under capes and towels and all sorts of stuff to keep that secret for as long as we could,” he explained. “We didn’t quite make it to airdate with that secret a secret, but we did our best.” All of this also means—sorry, fan theories, just to reiterate again—that the Fox Marvel universe is not crossing over with the MCU, sorry.
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OK, so fine, fair enough. Now the bad news. Those with Qanon-esque theories about the “WandaVision” finale? You may be seriously disappointed. In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shakman said just that.
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“I know there are so many theories out there; there will be a lot of people who will no doubt be disappointed by one theory or another,” the director said. “But we’re always telling this story about Wanda dealing with grief and learning how to accept that loss, and hopefully people will find that the finale is surprising but also satisfying, and that it feels inevitable because it’s the same story they’ve been watching the whole time.”
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This is what many of us, and yours truly have been saying all along, frankly. Just listen to our ‘WandaVision’: Will Marvel Persevere & Honor Its Painful Ideas Of Love, Grief & Trauma In The Finale? podcast. The show has already revealed the two big bads behind everything, Agatha (all along), but also Wanda all along.
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It would be awkward and strange, and poor writing frankly, if Magneto, Reed Richards, Mephisto, or any of your cockamamie theories showed up as cameos, it’s not happening. There is simply too much story to tell and get through.
And as for that tease, Paul Bettany made about working alongside an actor he’s never worked alongside before? I believe he’s f*cking around, and since you’re going to have Vision versus White Vision in the next episode likely, he probably meant himself.
At best, you’re getting Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange to help take the story into “Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness,” but fans expecting more than that, as Shakman said, are probably going to be heading for a world of hurt. Temper your expectations now.