When Joss Whedon started hinting that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were likely to appear in the line-up for the Avengers sequel, there was considerable casting speculation. Then Bryan Singer casually let slip that he’d cast Quicksilver, whose film rights, along with those of Scarlet Witch, are held by both Fox and Marvel, in **X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Today comes the Marvel response, as The Wrap reports Aaron Taylor-Johnson is being considered for the role in Whedon’s film.
We’re cautioned that it’s early days for this right now: there isn’t even a formal offer, let alone a deal in place yet. Apparently, however, the man who has until recently been best known to comic book movie fans as the title character in Kick-Ass (and who will be back in the sequel on August 16) is the front-runner for the role.
The weird quirk is here is that while Quicksilver and his sister are technically mutants – they’re the children of Magneto, as you can learn here – Marvel can’t mention that or their parentage, while Fox can’t ever link them to the Avengers.
Fox and Singer have gone with Evan Peters for their Quicksilver, picking someone who is a little lower profile than Marvel’s idea. In a strange coincidence, Peters played Todd in the original Kick-As****s.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the subtle dance of agents, representatives, lawyers and producers ends up with Johnson joining the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and, presuming he makes his deal, Robert Downey Jr. for the next bout of Avengers-related action.