One of the joys of the Marvel Multiverse is the fact that almost anyone can come back, even if they have been transported back through time (Captain America), shipped to the farthest side of the galaxy (Hulk), or killed (Iron Man). With the scheduling of the upcoming Marvel movies Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, I anticipate all sorts of surprises related to former Marvel heroes and villains making their return, especially after we got news that Chris Evans would return to the MCU. Well… return again, after his appearance as Johnny Storm in Deadpool and Wolverine. Given the freedom that Marvel has with these characters, I hope they correct one mistake that seems to be playfully eating at Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
The Kick-Ass star is about to burst onto the big screen as the Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter, though that’s a Sony picture that’s disconnected from the MCU. Still, while speaking with IMDB about his past superhero roles, Taylor-Johnson talked about playing Quicksilver, the speedster, in Avengers: Age of Ultron. As most of you probably know, Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver was killed off in Age of Ultron, and the character was brought back in WandaVision, available to Marvel fans who have a Disney+ subscription. Only, it was the Evan Peters version of the character, the one that we know best from the X-Men universe. Confusing!
Speaking on the switch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson jokingly quipped:
Lizzie Olsen – phenomenal actor. Absolute star, and a wonderful person. A wonderful human being. And I’m not just saying that. She’s really lovely. I was very fortunate. We play husband and wife in Godzilla, and we play brother and sister in Avengers. I don’t know why she didn’t resurrect me, though! (laughs)
The joke is leveled at the fact that when Scarlet Witch resurrected her brother in a key scene in WandaVision, the Pietro that we met was Evan Peters’ version from the Fox X-Men movies. It was played for laughs, and was made even more unusual by the fact that Taylor-Johnson and Peters shared the screen in Kick-Ass at an early stage in their careers. When asked by IMDB if he’s ever spoken with his old co-star about their Quicksilver connection, Taylor-Johnson explained:
I haven’t, really. I remember passing him at Comic-Con, where they had the X-Men lineup of guys. And we both had the moment of – sort of a ‘pinch yourself’ moment of, ‘Oh my god, aren’t we so lucky that we got to be here, and still be here doing what we love doing?’ But funny that we’re in two different universes doing it. And to be honest, I have a huge admiration (for) what he was able to do with this character. With some things that I think were fantastic, and worked really well for that character.
But if I’m being honest, I think that Aaron Taylor-Johnson deserves a proper return to the MCU. Quicksilver isn’t necessarily a founding member of The Avengers, though he has been part of the tema long enough that he didn’t deserve to die off in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and definitely shouldn’t have been the but of a joke in a few Disney+ shows. I say “a few” because Evan Peters appeared in Agatha All Along as the “resurrected” Quicksilver, and continued to play the material rather broadly.
It’s time to put more respect on the Quicksilver name. It’s time to bring Aaron Taylor-Johnson back into the MCU, potentially in Avengers: Doomsday, or Avengers: Secret Wars. They are being set up to be the be-all-and-end-all of superhero team up movies. And I don’t expect Taylor-Johnson to be playing Kraven beyond this initial movie. What do you guys think? Did you see this possible return to the MCU coming?
