Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron but she rose in popularity thanks to WandaVision. The Disney+ show explored her character’s faults and more before Doctor Strange 2 pushed that interpretation to the extreme.
One would think that Elizabeth Olsen knew what Marvel was planning to do with her character every step of the way. But that wasn’t the case. The actress once revealed that she had no idea her character would take such a turn in the Benedict Cumberbatch-led sequel.
Elizabeth Olsen Reveals She Didn’t Know Her Character Arc In Doctor Strange 2
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Elizabeth Olsen talked about her feelings regarding Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch becoming the primary villain of Doctor Strange 2. The actress revealed that she had no idea the studio was taking her character down the villainous path till she was told about it right before shooting. She said:
“I was shocked the moment they told me what it was about. I was shocked at the moment they said, ‘You’re the villain.’ No one told me until right before we shot it, so that was shocking.”
BuzzFeed also inquired if it was difficult for her to play her heroic character as a villain. But Olsen said that it wasn’t. All she wanted to do was ensure that the character arcs didn’t get repeated.
She said:
“No, but I think my goal is to make sure that nothing seems like a repeated arc. I try really hard not to make it repetitive because I think that might not be fun for fans.”
But this isn’t the only time she has talked about her experience filming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In an interview with Screen Rant, the Love and Death actress stated that initially, she couldn’t believe that she was playing Scarlet Witch as a villain. Olsen explained:
“I mean, it was fun. Initially, I was like, ‘Oh no! Not our Wanda.’ But then it became something to lean into, and Sam definitely put me in situations where I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this right now,’ when I was playing the alt-Wanda often.”
But what did WandaVision’s director Matt Shakman think about Wanda’s drastic character change in the Benedict Cumberbatch-led film? He hinted at being begrudgingly okay with it.
WandaVision Director Talks About Scarlet Witch’s Character Turn In Doctor Strange 2
Matt Shakman, in an interview with ComicBook.com, talked about his feelings regarding Wanda Maximoff’s villainous character turn in Doctor Strange 2. He revealed that he collaborated with Sam Raimi and his team so that there was consistency regarding Elizabeth Olsen’s character. The director said:
“I talked a lot to Michael Waldron and I talked to Sam Raimi and we also shared lots of the art department as we were creating the Darkhold and her costume and other things that would continue on, so there was a lot of synergy on it. I’m aware of, certainly, the conversation on the internet about Wanda and her character. I’m so proud of everything we did on ‘WandaVision.’ That show is really special, working with Lizzie, and telling that story was so unique and fun.”
Even though he’s happy to have worked with Elizabeth Olsen on the show that kickstarted Phase 4 of the MCU, it seems like the director feels bittersweet about passing the baton. However, in the end, he said, “I think they made decisions they needed to make to make that story work and I thought it was a super entertaining movie.” Doctor Strange 2 grossed about $955 million worldwide and is still loved by fans. It now remains to be seen where Olsen’s Scarlet Witch goes from here.
WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2 are streaming on Disney+.
Source: BuzzFeed and Screen Rant
