As per a new book about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the founding members of the Avengers could have been played by Zooey Deschanel, who is well-known for her comedic roles in Elf, Weeds, New Girl and more.
Now, this is as good an excuse as any to ruminate on the possibilities of the multiverse, a theme that is surging to the fore in Phase Four. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is confirmed to connect to WandaVision and Loki, the former exploring synthetic realities from the power of magic and the latter introducing the seemingly neutral Time Variance Authority.
The animated anthology series What If…? also views the splintered multiverse through the eyes of the Watcher, offering us alternate outcomes to pivotal moments in the MCU. Perhaps the Watcher saw this changed path in his intergalactic travels where Deschanel would have been cast as one of the Avengers in Joss Whedon’s 2012 movie of the same name.
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"It was all about The Wasp. He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel," said producer Jeremy Latcham in the book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (cheers, Slashfilm). "[Wasp] was the funniest character in the whole movie, and well-written."
The Wasp, also known as Janet Van Dyne, possesses the ability to transform with Pym Particles, fly with bio-synthetic wings, and use bioelectricity to “sting” her enemies. Formerly a socialite with a penchant for science, Janet is actually one of the founders of the group of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the comics and it was her idea to name themselves the Avengers.
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"The Wasp happened because there was a short period where it looked like we weren't going to be able to get Scarlett [Johansson],” continued Latcham. Johansson played Black Widow in Iron Man 2 but her scheduling conflicts were causing issues for the nascent crossover movie. “I was panicking. I thought, 'Hold on, we could do The Wasp.' Then I fell in love with that. But we did get Scarlett, and then I realized I had written this entire movie about The Wasp. Oops. I overcompensated there."
The Wasp is set to return in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which will be released on July 28, 2023.
Topics: Marvel, Disney, TV And Film