Caution: contains SPOILERS for Doctor Strange 2
Wanda Maximoff's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arc has surprised many - but perhaps not Elizabeth Olsen, who predicted Scarlet Witch's downfall 7 years ago. Even by superhero standards, Wanda Maximoff hasn't enjoyed a smooth journey in the MCU. Elizabeth Olsen made her debut as a Hydra test subject in the post-credits sequence of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, before fully emerging in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Scarlet Witch then found love with Vision, joined Team Rogers during Captain America: Civil War, got snapped by Thanos, then returned to a world her beloved Vision was no longer part of. Still, few could've predicted she'd one day be slaughtering the Doctor Strange 2 illuminati.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Benedict Cumberbatch's Sorcerer Not-So-Supreme solicit Wanda's help regarding some multiversal witchcraft. Instead of aiding her Avenger pal, however, Wanda embarks on a Darkhold-fueled rampage through Marvel's parallel worlds seeking real versions of Billy and Tommy - the two sons she manifested using chaos magic in WandaVision. Wanda slaughtered one hero after another, assaulted Kamar-Taj, and fulfilled the villainous potential her awesome powers have hinted at since 2014.
Scarlet Witch's death toll in Doctor Strange 2 is truly shocking, but perhaps not to Elizabeth Olsen herself. Speaking to ScreenRant ahead of Avengers: Age of Ultron 7 years ago, Olsen was asked how she'd like Wanda's MCU future to play out. Citing Marvel's "House of M" comic storyline, Olsen predicted with eerie accuracy: "I mean, if she could have two fake babies, and everyone tell her they don't really exist, and then her just go nuts, that would be unbelievable." This quote demonstrates Elizabeth Olsen wielding a foresight that puts Marvel's very best psychics to shame - laying out the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 7 whole years before the movie's release.
Olsen's "have two fake babies" line echoes the basic plot of WandaVision, where the grief-stricken Scarlet Witch created Billy and Tommy Maximoff as part of her Westview reality. Dispelling her illusory world, Scarlet Witch made the torturous decision to let the twins vanish. The rest of Olsen's 7-year-old quote then applies directly to the Doctor Strange 2 ending. Wanda's determination to make Billy & Tommy real boys on Earth-616 underpins her violent invasion of the multiverse - a quest to realize maternal conviction. Also following Elizabeth Olsen's scary forecast, everyone else in the MCU insists Billy & Tommy don't exist (at least not in Wanda's universe). "Go nuts" would then describe the rest of Scarlet Witch's multiverse madness pretty nicely.
As much as Kevin Feige is renowned for planning ahead, even he surely hadn't envisioned Scarlet Witch as the villain of the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast as early as 2015. If he had, Elizabeth Olsen probably wouldn't have revealed it so casually in our interview. The actress' prophetic answer does, however, prove what Olsen wanted her MCU character to eventually become, and that desire to see Scarlet Witch cut loose on Marvel's finest in a blood-soaked search for motherhood might've helped push Wanda toward her dark(hold) destination.
Especially interesting is how Elizabeth Olsen brands her own Scarlet Witch suggestion as ridiculous and "too dark" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once upon a time, many would've concurred, but Marvel has steadily diversified over recent years. Some projects have gone more comedic in tone (Thor: Ragnarok), whereas others adopted a darker hue. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is widely considered Marvel's darkest turn yet, with Sam Raimi bringing out horror elements previously unseen under the MCU banner. The realization of Elizabeth Olsen's dream (or, indeed, nightmare) scenario for Wanda Maximoff certainly proves how Marvel's product has evolved. How might that tone develop in Marvel's Doctor Strange 3 story?
