Calling all WandaVision fans, let’s cry in the corner together because we might not see Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch on our TV screens soon. The actress has been vocal lately about how her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has stunted her acting career.
After playing Wanda for nearly ten years, Olsen might be ready to retire from the superhero world, and we get it. Being a superhero in the MCU has its good sides and bad; for Olsen, the bad has outweighed the good.
Marvel Contracts Limit Their Actors’ Movie Choices
As an actor working with Marvel Studios is a dream for many out there, but to those who’ve been there long enough, it’s not all it’s hyped out to be. Playing a popular superhero based on comics with millions of fans and action figures modelled after you is amazing. However, Marvel has been known to sign actors on multiple movie deals that block them from doing other projects.
The Scarlet Witch actress has been vocal about how limiting she was when she was under her contract. Olsen said when she joined the MCU in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2015’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron, she only signed on for a two-movie deal and a cameo. In comparison, her fellow actors signed on to do six to nine movie deals. She revealed that she had to miss acting opportunities at the time because of her schedule with Marvel.
One of the films Olsen said she missed out on was the 2015 Oscar-nominated comedy, The Lobster. In 2022, the Love & Death actress told The New York Times she felt frustrated when she couldn’t do the jobs she wanted because of her contract. “I had this job security but I was losing these pieces that I felt were more part of my being. And the further I got away from that, the less I became considered for it.”
Another reason Elizabeth Olsen’s superhero days might be behind her is because she currently doesn’t have a contract with the studio, maybe because she’s been warning future Marvel actors to only give the studio one film. Hence, they retain some sort of creative control over their character in the future.
Wanda’s Portrayal in Doctor Strange 2 Didn’t Sit Well With Olsen.
Talking about creative control, it’s clear Olsen didn’t have much regarding her character in the second instalment of Doctor Strange. One of her main frustrations with the project was that it was filmed simultaneously as Disney’s WandaVision. The writers of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness had not seen the series because it wasn’t finished yet. But this tiny fact seemingly destroyed Wanda’s character so much she became unrecognizable to the audience.
Wanda was still grieving Vision and her sons Billy and Tommy from WandaVision when she found the Darkhold, and it corrupted her even more, only for her to destroy the magical book at the end and bury herself in a mountain, which is such a sad way to end such a complex and powerful superhero.
Speaking on her experience at the time, Olsen said, “I had to attack the same themes in order for it to be interesting for me, I think, and potentially for the audience. I had to come at it from a different point of view so that it wasn’t repetitive.” Wanda had been one of the Avengers’ greatest heroes, but the writers turned her into a villain because she was grieving. For no other reason than to provide a worthy villain for Doctor Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness
Elizabeth Olsen Might Be Tired Of Playing Wanda Maximoff
While talking to Meghan Fahy for Variety’s Actors on Actors, Olsen admitted she doesn’t miss playing the Avenger. “No, I don’t… and I think the reason why I am not calling Kevin Feige every day with ideas is because I’m really proud of what we were able to do.”
During the sit-down, Olsen said if she were fired from Marvel right now, she would be super proud of what she made there. Though for now, she just wants to add more acting credits that aren’t Marvel related. “I really am just trying to figure out how to load up other films and characters so it becomes less about the Marvel of it all.”
There’s Hope For One Last Scarlet Witch Appearance
Even though Olsen has been vocal about her exit from the MCU, one project we are hopeful she’ll appear in is Marvel’s Agatha: Coven Of Chaos. It will follow Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, Wanda’s gossipy neighbour in Disney’s WandaVision. Since the spin-off series will continue Agatha’s story, there’s a good chance we’ll see her reunite with The Scarlet Witch in one way or the other.
Since the nine-episode series is still in the early days of production, there is room for the writers to write in Wanda and shed more light on what happened to her after the events of Multiverse of Madness. Olsen told Deadline when asked if Wanda Maximoff will return for the Coven of Chaos, she said, “I don’t know ever how to answer these questions, except I don’t…. I think I’ll be back.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also told Variety last year that there’s still so much to explore regarding Wanda’s character. “We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I’d work with Lizzie for another 100 years if we could. Anything’s possible in the multiverse! We’ll have to see.”
