Elizabeth Olsen Says Marvel Misused Scarlet Witch

Elizabeth Olsen is open to reprising Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but only if there’s a way to use the character well. The actor hasn’t been seen in the MCU since 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which turned Wanda into a full blown villain and ended with the character crushed under a collapsed building. Her fate is unknown, and neither Olsen nor Marvel have yet to announce when Scarlet Witch will reappear.

“It’s a character that I love going back to when there’s a way to use her well, and I think I have been lucky that when I started I was used well,” Olsen said in a recent interview with FM104 (via Collider). “I think people didn’t know what to do with me for a second there. … If there’s a good way to use her I’m always happy to come back.”

In interviews following the release of the “Doctor Strange” sequel, Olsen did not hide the fact that she was surprised Marvel took Scarlet Witch in such a villainous direction. The Emmy nominee said she struggled with the jump from “WandaVision,” the Disney+ series where Scarlet Witch became a more vulnerable and fully-fleshed out character, to “Multiverse of Madness,” where she went full villain.

“At first I think I was nervous and conflicted, because I hadn’t finished ‘WandaVision’ yet, but we were almost finished,” Olsen told Variety after the sequel’s release about becoming a villain. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god, how do I make this all work together?’ We got there; I got there. And it became an amazing opportunity to have people be won over by this woman in ‘WandaVision’ and feel for her, and then, you know, manipulate them into this film, where they get to be on her side and then feel conflicted themselves.”

During a conversation last year with “The White Lotus” star Meghann Fahy as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Olsen got honest about not missing her Scarlet Witch days when Fahy asked if she missed playing the Marvel character.

“No, I don’t,” Olsen responded. “It’s been almost 10 years of playing her. And I’ve loved it. 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. I think ‘WandaVision’ was a really surprising opportunity.”

Olsen added, “If someone were to tell me that I’m fired from Marvel movies, I will feel proud of what we made. And 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.”

While it remains to be seen whether or not Scarlet Witch will return to the MCU, Feige himself has expressed interest in having the character back on screen.

“There really is so much more to explore,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once told Variety. “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.”