Though she may have served as the villain of the film, Elizabeth Olsen continues to defend Scarlet Witch's actions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Olsen made her Marvel Cinematic Universe return with the new film alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular sorcerer, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo and Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer. The sequel also marked the MCU debuts of Xochitl Gomez as young heroine America Chavez, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, playing a variant of his character from Fox's X-Men franchise, and John Krasinski as Reed Richards.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness served as a finale to the story arc put forth in WandaVision, in which Olsen's Wanda Maximoff struggled to process her grief over losing Vision in Avengers: Infinity War by creating an alternate reality and giving birth to super-powered twins. After closing the reality by the end of the series, the MCU sequel found Wanda corrupted by her time studying the Darkhold and hunting down America Chavez to use her powers of jumping through multiverses to get to a universe where her children are real and alive. Doctor Strange spent most of Multiverse of Madness working to protect America from a villainous Scarlet Witch, though the star behind the character doesn't see it the same way.
While appearing on Good Morning America's Book Club Q&A segment, Elizabeth Olsen opened up about Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When asked about her time playing the film's villain, Olsen denied thinking of her character as one and defended Scarlet Witch's actions through the lens of a troubled soul processing their heartbreak. See what Olsen explained below:
"I will never think of [Wanda] as a baddie. She learns a lesson, but I think of her as processing big emotions [in the film]."
Wanda's story arc in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has largely divided critics and MCU fans alike, with many feeling it to be an unsatisfactory close to what came before in WandaVision while others argue the Darkhold's negative influence is an acceptable explanation for how her story continued. Olsen's comments defending Scarlet Witch's actions seem to line her up with the latter group as she indicates the evil magical book fed on her emotional struggle and fueled the bad side of her character. Olsen has previously come out in defense of Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, expressing a feeling of being "satisfied" with the conclusion of her arc and remaining curious of where the franchise will take her.
Audiences have been left wondering whether they will see a return of Olsen's Scarlet Witch following the emotional Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ending, in which she toppled Mount Wundagore on herself to destroy all version of the Darkhold throughout the multiverse and was seemingly killed. While her contract came to a close with the MCU sequel, Olsen has continued to express her hopes of returning in the future, feeling she "should come back" but recently noting Marvel hasn't told her "anything about my fate." As audiences await word on Scarlet Witch's return, they can revisit Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness streaming on Disney+ now.
Source: Good Morning America/Instagram
