Being the first phase four entry, the hype surrounding Elizabeth Olsen’s WandaVision was over the roof and the series did manage to live up to the expectations. Considering the series showcased Wanda dealing with her grief of losing Vision and eventually getting over it after going through a redemption arc, fans were engrossed to witness how her future unfolds in the MCU.
However, things went south after Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took a controversial approach with her character and made her the main antagonist of the movie. Following this controversial decision that divided the fans, many were joking about the creators not being familiar with WandaVision and it seems that isn’t too far from the truth.
Elizabeth Olsen reflects on the reasoning behind her villainous turn in the MCU
Despite Sam Raimi’s brilliant direction, Doctor Strange 2 wasn’t able to live up to the expectations following its extreme emphasis on exposition dumps and other major issues. However, the aspect of the movie that divided the fandom was Scarlet Witch’s sudden turn into the main antagonist of the movie despite going over a redemption arc in WandaVision. And while reflecting on this scenario, Elizabeth Olsen revealed that the creators of the movie didn’t watch WandaVision before making the movie, which does explain her accelerating madness in the movie. She said,
“It’s a similar arc in ‘Multiverse of Madness’ that it is in ‘WandaVision.’ There could be parallel stories being told there of dealing with grief and loss. Well, I proposed that to the writers who wrote ‘Multiverse of Madness?’ [laughs]. I said, ‘Do you know what we’re doing in ‘WandaVision’? Have you seen it?’ And no, they had not seen it ’cause it wasn’t finished yet.”
But despite playing a more villainous role in the Doctor Strange sequel, Olsen did express her desire to return as Scarlet Witch and follow a lighter approach for her character.
Elizabeth Olsen wants to take a more lighthearted approach to Scarlet Witch in the future
Death isn’t a huge problem when it comes to MCU and there is a good amount of chance that Elizabeth Olsen might reprise her role in the future. While reflecting on the possible paths that the MCU can take with her character, she expressed her desire to play a more lighthearted version of the character and maybe even go over another redemption arc. She said,
“We can do anything with her now! I feel like we’ve done so much. Now, we can really have fun; I feel like there’s a lot more humor to be had with her. She’s often the emotion of a story, and I’m curious to see what we can explore. And hopefully [we can] give her some redemption.”
However, witnessing Olsen’s Scarlet Witch going over another redemption arc might not have the same impact as it did in the WandaVision series, as it would feel repetitive. But with the MCU now regaining its momentum back with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, thanks to James Gunn, fans are hoping that they will do justice to Olsen’s character in the future.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: Vanity Fair