WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter explains the decision to make Scarlet Witch a villain. Speculation on who the villain would be for the Doctor Strange sequel has been growing since its announcement, with various theories ranging from Nightmare, Shuma-Gorath to even an evil version of Doctor Strange himself. However, the Multiverse of Madness trailers hid that the true villain of the film would be Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch.
Wanda playing a major part in the MCU film was not a shock, as audiences have known she would feature in the story since 2019, when both Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and WandaVision were announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. After the WandaVision finale episode, the series seemed to indicate that Wanda was on a path to redemption, with enslaving the town of Westview as the darkest act she would commit. Multiverse of Madness, however, follows on from the WandaVision post-credits scene, revealing the Darkhold has transformed Wanda into a true villain in Scarlet Witch, as she is willing to kill a young girl (America Chavez) to achieve her happy ending.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron explains the decision to make Scarlet Witch a villain. The writer said it came from Marvel sticking to the comics, and that this was the path Wanda was heading towards in the MCU for some time. While it was considered Wanda would be part of the ensemble and "turn" towards the end of Doctor Strange 2, a decision was made to advance Scarlet Witch's story sooner. Read Waldron's comments below:
"Well, first off, it’s true to who the comics’ version of the character is and what she does in the comics. It was always where Wanda was headed in the MCU, even as I inherited the movie. The question just became, when would it happen? Certainly, there was a version of this movie where Wanda was part of the ensemble that ended, I guess, with her turning bad, and then she could have been an antagonist of another movie. But I feel like in that case, you would have had a watered-down version of Wanda going bad because it’s still Dr. Strange’s movie. She wouldn’t be the protagonist, and she wouldn’t really be the antagonist. You’d have to have a [different] antagonist throughout the entirety of most of the film.
You know, she’s doing bad stuff throughout WandaVision. She does make the heroic choice to let go of all those people. But it’s also revealed to her that the family she’s built is not real. Then she gets the Darkhold at the end of the series and learns that there is a real version of her children out there. And if you’ve got the Book of the Damned whispering in your ear long enough that your kids are out there and you could go get ’em, maybe that can push you to do some terrible things."
The writer's comic book reference is interesting, as Waldron appears to be referring to 2004's Avengers: Disassembled. However, in that storyline, Wanda inadvertently causes destruction, as opposed to Multiverse of Madness, where she is in full control of her actions. The decision to turn Wanda into a villain is certainly a controversial one, as she has her own passionate loyal fanbase that has seen the character's journey go from siding with villains like Baron Von Strucker and Ultron to becoming a full-fledged Avenger with close connections. Star Elizabeth Olsen has defended Scarlet Witch's story in Multiverse of Madness, though both she and its writers claim this is unlikely to make audiences more supportive.
The Scarlet Witch's fate in the MCU remains up in the air. Olsen is open to reprising her role when the X-Men join the MCU and, if the films are following the comics, the character will indeed return for a redemption arc. In the 2010 to 2012 storyline The Children's Crusade saw the Young Avengers on a quest to save Scarlet Witch from Doctor Doom and restore her memory. Marvel Studios appears to be planting the seeds for the Young Avengers across MCU projects, and while no project has officially been announced it is unlikely that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the end of Scarlet Witch's story.
Source: Rolling Stone
