Marvel Studios finally revealed that actor Ruaridh Mollica will play Tommy Maximoff/Speed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s upcoming entry VisionQuest. The character of Tommy Maximoff was first introduced in WandaVision and later in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, played by Jett Kylne. Yet Agatha All Along established that the souls of the children Wanda Maximoff created in Westview have been reincarnated into boys who died in the real world. Billy Maximoff was reborn in the body of William Kaplan, played by Joe Locke, and took on the mantle of Wiccan. Teased in Agatha All Along, Tommy’s soul was put into the body of Thomas Sheppard, whose storyline will now play out in VisionQuest.
Not only is this another one of many Young Avengers teases the MCU has sprinkled in through the Multiverse Saga, but it also continues a strange franchise tradition: casting actors who previously played romantic partners as siblings, specifically the Maximoff siblings. To paraphrase Phineas and Ferb, “if I had a nickel for every time Marvel cast actors who previously played romantic interests as siblings, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice.”
Casting Former On-Screen Couples as Siblings in the MCU
Ruaridh Mollica is currently starring in the play, Clarkstone, on the West End in England. He stars opposite actor Joe Locke, who plays his love interest. Joe Locke also plays William Kaplan, aka Billy Maximoff/Wiccan, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Agatha All Along. With Mollica now set to play Speed in VisionQuest, this means that he and Joe Locke will go from kissing on stage to playing siblings within a year. The idea of Locke and Mollica going from romantic screen partners to twin brothers is certainly a whiplash for many, one even the actors are aware of. Locke shared a video of himself and Mollica on TikTok looking awkwardly at each other with the caption, “When you find out the guy you’ve been kissing at work every day is actually your twin brother…”
What is strange is that this isn’t the first time this has happened within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with members of the Maximoff family. Both Speed and Wiccan are the reincarnated sons of Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen. While Wiccan has powers similar to his mother’s, Speed does not share the powers of his father, Vision. Instead, he possesses super speed like his uncle, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver, who Aaron Taylor-Johnson played in Avengers: Age of Ultron. A year before playing siblings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson played a married couple in Godzilla.
It becomes even stranger knowing that in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Ultimates 3 writer Jeph Loeb depicted Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in an incestuous relationship. Thankfully, the Marvel Cinematic Universe avoided that storyline. Still, seeing Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver portrayed by actors who had played a married couple just a year earlier may remind some viewers of that storyline. Now history repeats itself with Ruaridh Mollica and Joe Locke. Two sets of Maximoff siblings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been portrayed by duos who previously played romantic partners. VisionQuest is set to arrive sometime in 2026.
- Network
-
Disney+
- Directors
-
Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro
- Franchise(s)
-
Marvel Cinematic Universe