Well, well, well. If the surly silver-haired speedster isn’t suddenly the prettiest girl at the ball.
For a while now we’ve known, via writer/director Joss Whedon himself, that there are plans to have Quicksilver and his sister The Scarlet Witch appear in Disney and Marvel Studios’ Marvel’s The Avengers 2. (Man, I hope they have a better title.)
Not to be outdone, today director/producer Bryan Singer tweeted that he had just cast actor Evan Peters in the role of Quicksilver in his own film, Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Well then.
First of all, the script for Marvel’s The Avengers 2 isn’t final yet and Pietro and Wanda might not make it to the final draft. You never know with these things. But let’s take Whedon’s hints at face value and assume that they will.
Crazy, right?
Fox owns the film and TV (non-animation) rights to all the Marvel characters deemed to be mutants. Marvel retains the movie and TV (non-animation) rights to the Avengers characters. And yet, some of The Avengers are mutants. It’s tricky business that some entertainment lawyers who drive super nice cars are paid a lot of money to hash out. It’s possible that through some contractual loophole Marvel Studios would be allowed to use Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch as long as no mention is made of their father (Magneto) and their mutant status. It’s also possible that today’s announcement by Bryan Singer is a way for Fox to preemptively stake a claim to a character before the completion of the script for their rival film featuring that character. It’s also possible that two different versions of Quicksilver will be appearing in both films played by different actors. It’s also possible, however unlikely, that the same version of Quicksilver will appear in both films played by the same actor.
The point is, some lawyers are going to have even nicer cars when this is all said and done.
It seems suspicious that Singer announced this so soon after Whedon announced his intention to include Quicksilver. I smell a rat! I suspect his inclusion will seem rather shoehorned next year…
There’s always the possibility, however small, that Fox and Disney are playing ball on this one. Millar has said he was interested in seeing Marvel properties (Fox and Marvel Studios) taking place in the same universe, even if they have no direct crossover.
Either that or Fox are planting their flag first. Which, sadly, seems much more likely.
I’m mostly just amused that Marvel will have a speedster on film before DC is even close to getting a Flash film made. All the good jokes will be taken, whoever is going to have to write that one!
Magento is actually a cool name…
I thought DC had a magnetic girl called Magenta once. In the Teen Titans if I remember correctly.
I think you are thinking of a Wally West/Geoff Johns era Flash villain…purple costume? long black hair?
http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/bigimages/magenta.jpg
The Marvel movie continuity may be ruined by these jerkwads and then there will officially be no goodness in my life!
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
Wanda’s closet is a gateway into the Singerverse, first discovered when Pietro had to hide inside it naked one time.
Damn, I think you cracked the code!!!
Isn’t it crazy that all those lawyers are getting paid more than Jack Kirby for these movies? If you let yourself think about it, you loose all faith in the world.
@bub, why would you assume that people on the Internet had faith in the world to begin with? But I appreciate the thought!
I get it. Everyone’s after that sweet, sweet Quicksilver money. I mean, his solo series lasted, what, 12 or 13 issues in 1998? No way you don’t want to hop on that bandwagon.
Speedsters do everything faster than everyone else. ;D
I cannot believe that there is any question as to who has the film rights to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, and I am guessing it’s Fox. When the deal was structured with Fox, I am sure they created a list of characters Fox gets to use. Why would you leave something like this open to interpretation? You wouldn’t. (I am thinking this same issue came up with with regards to the Skrulls, which originally appeared in a Fantastic Four comic, and did not appear in the first Avengers movie.)
What is more likely is that Whedon was trying to workout a deal with Fox to use Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch for the Avengers franchise without their rights reverting back permanently to Marvel. I am sure he was working the angle of win-win, as Whedon’s Avengers 2 would raise the characters profile.
The twins are associated with both the Avengers and the X-Men. I don’t think anyone really thought either would appear in a movie (most especially when Comic Book movies were considered just a fleeting fad). The Pietro and Wanda of the Brotherhood are pretty different than the Wanda and Pietro of the Avengers.
It is weird… One of the companies should fully hold the rights to the characters… Maybe Disney owns Wanda and Fox Pietro? I definitely associate the Scarlet Witch with the Avengers far more than I do Quicksilver…
Regardless, this seems like a giant, unnecessary mess.
Um, yeah. Personally, I’ve never really gotten into Quicksilver, so it would be fine with me if The Avengers just had Wanda. I know, some would say that Wanda without Pietor would not work, but Magneto’s not going to be a part of it either, so they’re already going to need some background revising. Either way, I think that The Scarlet Witch has a lot more potential on screen than her brother. Plus, it brings us one step closer, fingers crossed, to Vision . . .
I agree that this smells of some premptive flag jousting on Fox’s part . . .
Sub-Mariner is a mutant, an avenger, and a hallmark of the FF mythos…Guess we won’t be seeing HIM anytime soon!
My guess is that Namor goes with The Fantastic Four, as that was where he was first reintroduced into Marvel in the 60s, which is a shame, as I would love to see him in a film with Captain America (particularly if they ever find a way to do more World War II stories).
The guy that has been chosen to play quicksilver is a really good actor. Looking forward to Days of Future Past. Those issues were legendary when i was a kid.
This is all just leading up to Sony’s big reveal of the other major Spider-Man villain to be featured in ASM 2:
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=78357032384%2071
haha, that would rule.
Tee heee. Just saw this on some other site.
I’ll be honest, I kind of get a kick of seeing some fanboys’ head explode ( or get their panties all rolled up) when I see news like these. Yeah, being kind off trollish here, I know. ” How could this be!”, ” My head can’t handle it”. “I’m a lawyer in my spare time!”.. on and on.
Me, I just watch the movies and enjoy them for what they are, billion grossing products/ properties that will be milked for what they are worth. All I can do is watch, or not watch. And I’ll be watching them both with glee and joy, that’s for sure! Weird to have the same characters in two different franchises? Sure! But, I’m sure these behemoths that hold rights to this stuff have a few lawyers in their retainer that iron this shit out before it even hits the press so, whatevs.
I’ll play along… It is a nice little legal soap opera-ish issue, a funny one at that, that the characters will be used in two different “universes”. I like that girl in Hanna a lot, she seems like a suberb actor that captures your attention. Im sure Joss has something cool for her to do. And that kid in that Horror series was creepy as fudge, sure hope Singer gets something good out him!
And my ultimate fanboy scenario: The 2 companies shake hands, make friends, and make every nerd jizz by allowing the characters cross over in the movies! Hey, a geek can only dream right!? DC and and Marvel have done it, Im I right?
Can’t wait to see both movies, Im a big fan of both directors.
ps: Sups Returns and IM2 were good, dont care what y’all say!
Ya that Girl from Hanna has the most amazing eyes.
Ya IM2 wasnt as bad as everyone said. I liked Rourke in it…. not so much the multiple enemy Robots.
Um…what?
Since you don’t care what I say, you won’t mind if I say how lame it is that Superman’s greatest nemesis in Superman Returns was an island of crystal rocks?
F*** Bryan Singer. Xmen 1, Xmen 2 and it ends there. Get rid of him.
This has been talked about alot of IGN, the thing I took away from the last article is that the Avengers will make no mention of Magneto, the X-Men, or mutants and that will allow Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to cameo/appear in the movie. I don’t care really, I’m fine with the core 5 from the first movie. That said; this kind if sets the precedent for how Fox/Sony/Marvel will share and interact with their respective movie universes. If it goes well, more of these interactions could happen, if it goes badly, well…
Ok, first, this is awesome. Quicksilver is a great character, appearing in two films directed by fantastic artists.
But man, let’s pretend for a second that they ARE playing ball and the actor WILL be the same in both movies.
How blown will all of our minds be when the post-credits scene after Avengers 2 is the X-Men, coming to town to “chat” with those uppity flatscans?
I think I might need to lie down.
This ridiculous issue would have been easily solved if Disney just bought the rights back for X-Men and Spider-Man. We’re gonna have this issue is Disney wants to expand their movie-verse like they want to now. If the small print to get him inside Avengers 2 is a hassle then I bet FOX (or anyone else) could make it an ordeal for any other character.
They’re an empire that practically owns most of Hollywood at this point. How they can’t just buy all of the characters rights back in one fell swoop is ridiculous because we know they can.
Just because Disney has the money doesn’t mean the other companies are looking to sell the rights back. Even a flop like X-Men Origins still doubled it’s production cost. That ability is nothing to sneeze at. Making super hero movies is like printing money these days. To my knowledge, there’s no end point for the contracts, so why would the other companies EVER give the rights back?
Fox isn’t selling. You can’t buy what isn’t for sale.
Whedon can always call him the “The Whizzer.” Put that on a Slurpee.
ahahahaha, I have a friend who works at 7-11 Corporate. I think we can make this happen.
It’d be a cool idea if all the movies existed in the same universe but, let’s be honest here, they don’t really fit together. The Avengers have a particular theme and tone that the X-Men simply do share. It’s like mixing 1980’s Superman and the Dark Knight. They just don’t jive together.
If I had good money, I’d pay it to learn who actually came up with this idea first.
A lot of us have known about Whedon’s intention to include the siblings in Avengers 2 for a couple of months now. If Singer had the idea first, then he’s well within his rights (I guess) to use the character. If he learned about it along with the rest of us and hail-maried Quicklsilver into his movie, than he’s even more of a hack than I thought he was.
Does anyone actually care about the Singer “X-Men” movies anymore? Personally, I’ve been spoiled by the Marvel Studios films and now I’m just waiting for the day that we can bring the X-Men, FF, Daredevil, Punisher, and Spidey troops home.
Singer’s vision of the X-Men has never jived with mine, and in retrospect the enjoyment I got out of those movies had the benefit of being the best of what was around at the time. Now that I’ve seen what can really be done with the Marvel U in Hollywood, I don’t care if I never see another black biker suit again. What concerns me is the possibility that, upon hearing this, Whedon may very well scrap the idea of using Wanda and Pietro altogether. Which is a shame, because they’d be a thousand times more entertaining/accurate/profitable under his guidance.
Middle paragraph in your comments is all I care about in all this. Bring em home!
I gotta agree with some of your points; I’m a little burnt out on the X-Men franchase and Singer’s movies never felt like the X-Men to me. Here’s another problem, he’s not a comic fan which leads to trouble when he make Superman a analogue of Jesus (despite his creators being Jewish) and him running one of the most comic booky franchase in a movie adaptation.
If he really wants to add a speedster and keep the X-Men movie universe going, add in Northstar. Maybe Aurora too. He doesn’t need Pietro and Wanda, there’s no reason he would as far as I know.
I don’t agree that with Whedon the characters would be more accurate, entertaining/profitable yes but not accurate. 1) He couldn’t mention ever that Pietro and Wanda are Magneto’s kids (because the X-Men don’t exist in the MCU) and he couldn’t say they’re mutants (otherwise Fox would automatically own the rights to them). Another thing, he’s an old fashioned traditionalist which is why Iron Man’s ARC symbol went back to a circle in Avengers (despite the change in Extremis , way to do research Whedon. The triangle was good with tons of fans).
Frankly I fill like the Avengers 2 roster is crowded already, the main 5 plus Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and possibly Ant-Man and Wasp? Alot of actors who can leverage they’re salaries.
@ithosapien: I agree with you that the Avengers 2 roster is getting a little crowded and that it would be weird to introduce Wanda and Pietro and not be able to talk about them being mutants, but I do think they would be cool to add. They were among some of the first Avengers so I like bringing back some of the originals.
@IthoSapien: I think the potential reason for including Pietro and Wanda in Days of Future Past are actually pretty clear. We know Michael Fassbender’s Magneto will be featured in the 1970s side of the plot, so I can see it making sense for us to encounter his grown children in the future. Depending on the timeframe and ages of Wanda and Pietro, finding out he has kids of a certain age that he is unaware may cause Magneto to want to track them down as infants back in the 70s.
While I get that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were members of the early Avengers roster, at this point in the ongoing stories of both franchises, I think X-Men has the stronger story-driven case for their inclusion.
I mean, I’d be happy to see them in either or both films, but I think they have the potential for more impact in an X-Men film by introducing the idea of familial legacy in the mutant community.
X-Men 1 was way better than it had any right to be, and X-Men 2 was flat out fantastic. I don’t get how you can watch Wolvie snikt-ing men in black in the mansion and not think it’s the coolest thing ever.
HUgh Jackman NAILED the big screen adaptation of Wolverine, and that had soooo much potential to fail.
I also think without X-Men 1, you wouldn’t have an Iron Man 1, and you wouldn’t have an Avengers movie.
@bub: All the X-Men films contain awesome moments (Logan defending the mansion being one of my personal favorites), but when I add up the moments I enjoy, it still pales in comparison to the Marvel Studios’ productions. You’re probably right about the Singer films paving the way for the current films, but that doesn’t make me enjoy them any more than I do.
The greatest strength of all the X-Men films is the casting. Most every character is respectfully portrayed. It’s the overall interpretation that I struggle with. It’s just my opinion. Singer’s vision of the X-Men just isn’t what I wanted to see, and I look forward to another swing at it when/if Singer and Fox ever let it go.
@bub: I agree with @wheelhands that the first two X-Men had moments but overall I thought they were not very good. Hugh Jackman completely nailed Wolverine but the films themselves didn’t do much for me. I also think Batman Begins had a lot more to do with Iron Man getting made than the X-Men films.
Hey, what if Marvel just ret-con Quicksilver and have it turn out that he is not a Mutant and Magneto just adopted him and now use him in Avengers. Could that work? I am surer not but why?
If it did work they could then say “Oh it turns out Wolverine was bitten by a radioactive…well Wolverine” He’s in the Avengers!!!! That would be the best loop hole in the world.
Since they’re making an Ant-Man movie and Vision is so closely tied to him and Scarlet Witch, I think they should work with those aspects a bit in the Avengers and that opens up Ultron villain possibilities as well as Yellowjacket. Scarlet Witch is a mutant but belongs in the Avengers.
Marvel just needs to get the movie rights back to all of their characters no matter the cost. Shit like this is just plain retarded. I believe that Fox did this to try to through a monkey wrench into the Marvel studios plans.
I remember when the rumours about Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch being in the Avengers were coming out someone at Marvel said that there are a few special cases where both groups have the rights and Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch are among them.
I’m curious if Beast is since he’s got a lot of pre-film history with the Avengers.
I wonder if it’ll be “Young” Quicksilver in the X-Men and “Old” Quicksilver in Avengers, it would be VERY cool if they’d let the same actor play him in both.
Oh, my stars and garters!
I honestly don’t have a problem with him being in both movies and played by different actors, as long as both movies are good who really cares? And good for Evan Peters, he’s been great in both seasons of American Horror Story.
Quicksilver’s that fast. He can do two movies at the same time.
Was Quicksilver even in the “Days of Future Past” comic book story line, or is Fox trying to get on Marvel’s nerves? The worst scenario here is if Marvel decides not to use Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in Avengers 2, since the characters are so important to that comic’s history, and have such dramatic potential.
Evidently, if Pietro and Wanda are used in Avengers 2, the film cannot mention Magneto or the fact that the characters are mutants. No problem. I don’t think the movie has to explain their powers, and the siblings can act embarrassed of their father, and not want to mention him. Wanda could begin to say, “Our father is …” and Pietro would interrupt her with “a very difficult man.”
Apocalypse wasn’t in Days of the Future Past story either but they’re supposed to be using him in the movie. He works for that story anyway and besides Fox hasn’t done nearly anything with the X-Men movies that is true to the comix in terms of extreme detail and many cases any at all, and continuity is all turned around but can be made sense out of due to Wolverines age. The one thing they got down that mattered most to me was the tone and feel of X-Men which I think they got for the most part as well as Magneto & Charle’s relationship being key. They can mix the rest around but in the end Marvel studios needs em all!! Then they can skip 75 years of continuity and spew out AvsX the movie!!! 😉