Over the last thirteen years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has conditioned fans to expect crossovers and surprise appearances from the franchise’s expansive roster of established names, and as a result, many viewers were left disappointed when the WandaVision finale passed without so much as a sniff of an Avenger.
It’s not like the show was a standalone effort that wasn’t tied to the mythology, with Ant-Man‘s Jimmy Woo and Thor‘s Darcy Lewis playing major supporting roles, but the weeks of speculation kicked off by Paul Bettany revealing that one episode in particular featured him sharing scenes with an actor he’s always wanted to work with saw everyone from Magneto to Doctor Strange named as potential candidates, before he came clean and admitted that he’d been talking about himself the whole time.
Elizabeth Olsen also got in on the act, teasing a guest star comparable to Luke Skywalker’s shocking return in the final episode of The Mandalorian‘s second season, but the two stars are now finding out that MCU enthusiasts don’t like being messed around. Social media was awash with WandaVision fans voicing their disappointment and even anger that the cameo never materialized, and in a new interview, Olsen admitted that the whole thing may have gotten a little out of hand.
“I knew that there are theories that had to do with people wanting more surprises in cameos. But I’m not really that aware of what these fan theories were, so I’m kind of learning about it as we go. Paul said something about this crazy cameo when he was really just talking about doing a scene with himself, and I know Paul thought that was a really funny joke, and I thought it was funny. But I was like, I think people are actually going to suspect that there is more to come.”
Given that Bettany has been part of the MCU since the very first installment back in 2008, he should have known that trolling the fanbase could end up backfiring. WandaVision was under no obligation to deliver an A-list cameo, and the show succeeded on the strength of the performances and emotional undercurrent rather than any connective tissue, but it’s likely we won’t see the stars teasing things they can’t deliver again based on the reactions to the misdirection.
