(Spoilers from Marvel Studios and Disney+’s WandaVision will be found below.)
With the first two episodes of WandaVision now streaming on Disney+, Marvel fans are already hard at work combing through the show for Easter eggs and clues as to what’s really happening with the series’ bizarre sitcom setting. So far, WandaVision has only slightly tipped its hat to outside forces with the presence of SWORD, which in the comics is a more space-based version of SHIELD, but it may have a different purview in the MCU. However, Twitter user “shrish” noted a key piece of dialogue between Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda and Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes in Episode 2, which may hint at a classic Marvel villain lurking behind the scenes.
In the brief exchange, Dottie (Buffy‘s Emma Caulfied Ford) tells another character that, “The devil’s in the details, Bev,” which prompts Agnes to quip to Wanda, “That’s not the only place he is.” As shrish suggests, this could be a clever reference to Mephisto, who’s essentially Marvel’s version of Satan and might be Agnes’ unseen husband, “Ralph.” There are also theories that Agnes is secretly Agatha Harkness, an ancient sorceress tied to the Scarlet Witch’s past who’d be right at home pairing up with Mephisto.
https://twitter.com/mcushrish/status/1350018683217747970
https://twitter.com/wandasmax_/status/1350089056047267843
https://twitter.com/steven_becerel/status/1350115783901384704
As for who might be playing Mephisto, if he’s even in the show, here’s where we go even deep into Theory Town. Earlier in the week, Paul Bettany revealed that a surprise actor would be appearing on WandaVision that people will not expect. “I’ve been wanting to work with [this actor] forever who is just unbelievable and we have some real fireworks together.” Bettany told Black Girl Nerds.
Our theory is that actor is Al Pacino. Back in 2014, Pacino raved about Guardians of the Galaxy at the Venice Film Festival and told Deadline that he wants to work with Marvel:
“I would do anything that I could understand in terms of how I fit in it. And you know, of course if I could fit in it. Anything’s possible,” he told me. Then he winked, “You know, I did Dick Tracy and I got an Oscar nomination, so come on. I mean, what can I say?”
With Pacino’s Marvel love out in the wild, the fan castings began pouring in, and Mephisto was on virtually every list thanks to Pacino’s classic performance in The Devil’s Advocate. Could WandaVision finally make that dream-casting a reality? We’ll just have to wait and see in the weeks ahead.
