WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer has finally explained why Evan Peters was cast as Pietro Maximoff in the Disney Plus series.
The X-Men actor made a mid-season appearance in WandaVision as Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) brother, also known as Quicksilver.
The casting surprised many fans, as Aaron Taylor-Johnson had previously played the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Peters’ casting marking the first time a major non-MCU character had shown up in the franchise.
However, some viewers felt that the pay-off in the season finale, in which it was revealed that Pietro was simply a Westview resident called Ralph, was a little disappointing
Appearing on The Empire Film Podcast, Schaeffer revealed why Peters had been cast in the series, explaining the casting was partially motivated by “the fan reaction” and that the character was meant to “mess with Wanda’s head”.
“We had a grief counsellor come to the room, and we did some research on grief and there’s a lot about how people remember faces and the anxiety about not remembering the faces of your loved ones, that their images fade away… or actively misremembering things as a self-preservation tactic,” she said.
“All of that became really fascinating to us. We thought that by casting Evan in the role, it would not only have that effect on Wanda, but it would have this meta layer for the audience, as well. That the audience would understand the emotional mind-scramble of this being close, but no cigar for her brother.”
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All episodes of WandaVision are available to stream now on Disney Plus.
