Elizabeth Olsen Wants Scarlet Witch To Lighten Up A Little In Her Next MCU Outing (And So Do We)
Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, evolved into one of the MCU's most riveting characters, but at the cost of becoming one of its most tragic. Her last moments through "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" fittingly played out in a sacrificial death after a history of doing some questionable things in the MCU. But death for big-time superheroes and villains usually only means a small break. Besides, Elizabeth Olsen recently voiced her belief that her character Wanda will return, and an "Agatha: Coven of Chaos" series is on the horizon. So Wanda is likely coming back to the MCU in some form. We just wonder how different she might be this time.
At least Olsen already has an idea of how she'd like the character to evolve next. While speaking with Screen Rant during an SXSW event, the actor said she wants some humor and redemption. "We can do anything with her now! I feel like we've done so much," Olsen said in the interview. "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."
Olsen has the right idea of where to take the Scarlet Witch next. After a long time of enduring devastating heartbreaks and being driven to such dark depths, it's about time the Scarlet Witch got a bit more light shined on her.
It's been rough for the Scarlet Witch since the beginning
When "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" featured Wanda as the film's villain, it caught many fans off guard, even with the added evil effect from the Darkhold. But looking back on her journey throughout the MCU, and taking note of her losses, her descent into villainy seemed inevitable. In her debut for "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Pietro, her only remaining family member, dies. She falls in love with Vision throughout the rest of the "Avengers" series, but this sadly comes apart as Vision dies twice in "Infinity War." And while Wanda selfishly manipulates reality and crafts her idyllic life in "WandaVision," that crumbles too, as she once again loses Vision and their children.
Experiencing the constant pain of losing those you care about takes a toll on a person. And by the time we get to "Multiverse of Madness," it's no wonder the character has significantly added to her rap sheet of the worst things she's done in the MCU. But she's also had a massive gloomy shadow cast over her since the beginning. Really, the only time we've seen anything close to humorous with Wanda is through "WandaVision." Sure, the series is a brilliant view of an MCU character exploring and coping with their grief in an unhealthy superpowered manner. But the show's meta use of classic sitcoms and their shared tropes lead to some of the most legit funny moments throughout the MCU. More importantly, Elizabeth Olsen got to show off her impressive comedic chops while portraying Wanda, and that's something the character can benefit from as her broader arc continues.
A redemption arc would be in line with the comics
Elizabeth Olsen brought up a magic word in her interview with Screen Rant: "redemption." That's because, at this point, the Scarlet Witch is an MCU character prime and ready for it. Additionally, giving the MCU Wanda a chance to redeem herself would mirror her original comic book counterpart. The cycle of superheroes falling into villainy is nothing new in comics. But equally just as common is the eventual redemption arc back into hero status. Within Marvel Comics, the Scarlet Witch hasn't exactly been the greatest hero, especially to mutants. In one major storyline dealing with the character, not only did she try to kill her teammates, the Avengers, but she also decimated the population of mutantkind with her powers.
Like the MCU's Wanda, this version of the hero was pushed to the brink because of personal grief. But eventually, the hero worked hard back on the side of good, rejoining her teammates and even trying to return the mutants to their former glory. Wanda's challenging journey for redemption made some of her most compelling stories in the comics. And there's no doubt that the MCU's Wanda would greatly benefit from a similar character journey.