Elizabeth Olsen Shocked By New Direction For ‘Scarlet Witch’

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Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch

Credit: Marvel Studios

Fans finally hear the story from Elizabeth Olsen…

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in 90s episode of 'Wandavision'
Credit: Marvel Studios

One of the most interesting things for Marvel fans to watch over the almost 20 years of the franchise’s existence has been the amazing character growth of each character. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) became so much more selfless, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) stopped fighting the war he began 80 years ago,  Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) gained a family, and many more. Although, sometimes, the character progression isn’t exactly what people might think…

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Elizabeth Olsen Delivers Disappointing MCU News

One such character is Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Starting off as an antagonist in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), then fading gradually to become one of the Avengers by the end of the film, she’s had a long and winding road. Fans have watched her grow from one of the youngest members of the team to an actual force to be reckoned with by Captain America: Civil War (2016).

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff
Credit: Marvel Studios

Her prowess only grew, destroying the Mind Stone in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and almost single-handedly defeating Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame (2019). From there, audiences watched an amazing depiction of dealing with grief and trauma in WandavisionBoth in storytelling, and design, the series catapulted Wanda (Olsen) through hurdles of character growth, seeing her ultimately inherit her true nature as the Scarlet Witch.

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch in WandaVision's finale
Credit: Marvel Studios

Then, along came Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Director Sam Raimi admitted that he didn’t watch Wandavision and therefore didn’t really know the full extent of Wanda’s (Olsen) growth, and wrote the character he thought she should be. As shocking as this complete 180 was for fans, it was just as shocking, if not more, to Olsen herself, as new comments reveal.

Wanda Maximoff as Elizabeth Olsen
Credit: Marvel Studios

In a recent interview reported by The Direct, the Marvel Studios alumni shared with fans what she actually thought about being the villain of Multiverse of Madness and the surprising moment she found out that she would be:

“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.”

As surprising as that must have been for her, Oslen showed her skill by being one of the highlights of the film, playing a character extremely different than the one she thought she would. The star also shared how, much like Mark Hamill and the Sequel Trilogy Luke Skywalker, she couldn’t really see Wanda (Olsen) doing the things this iteration of the character was doing:

“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.”

Fans were disheartened to hear that this “alt-Wanda” might be the last iteration that they see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least for the time being. Olsen only recently disclosed that, at the current time, there’s no contract to bring her back as the character, although she has expressed interest in doing so.

Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: ‘WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen Reveals If Wanda Will Return in ‘Agatha: Coven Of Chaos’

The way Wanda (Olsen) made her exit in Multiverse of Madness, it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility. As she destroyed Wundagore, there was a burst of red energy, just like Wanda (Olsen) uses, which could have represented her power being extinguished, or it could have been her spiriting herself away to exile. Who knows?

Would you like to see The Scarlet Witch again? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!

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