Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch cannot return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 5, as Marvel Studios' last four movie releases have made her return impossible. Wanda Maximoff has had quite the journey in the MCU, debuting as a villain on Ultron's side, moving over to the Avengers, and losing her brother, Pietro, all in her first major MCU role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. After that, Wanda's MCU journey would continue to be filled with traumatic events, which reached a boiling point when Vision was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and the Scarlet Witch decided to create her own reality out of grief in Disney+'s WandaVision.

Scarlet Witch then became embroiled in another villain arc after she let go of her twin sons — Billy and Tommy — to restore reality at the end of WandaVision. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw the Scarlet Witch go on a multiverse-wide search for her sons, leaving a path of destruction behind. Wanda sacrificed herself at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, although her body was never shown. Given Wanda's newfound popularity since WandaVision, it is expected that she will return in the future, even with Olsen's grim Scarlet Witch update. However, Wanda cannot return in the MCU's Phase 5 due to Marvel's recent movies.

Bringing Scarlet Witch Back In Phase 5 Would Make A Movie Complaint Worse

scarlet witch in mcu doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

The Scarlet Witch returning in the MCU's Phase 5 would only make a recent complaint regarding Marvel movies worse. Since Wanda's apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, all of Marvel Studios' four most recent movie releases — Thor: Love & Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — have ended on a note about raising children, treasuring family, or establishing a legacy.

That kind of ending has received a great deal of criticism, with many viewers feeling the story beat to be repetitive at this point. Even Marvel's Blade, which saw a somewhat recent rumor claim that Mahershala Ali's character would have a daughter, received some complaints before ever releasing. If Olsen's Scarlet Witch were to return during Phase 5, those complaints would only grow stronger, as Wanda's return would have to touch upon the topic of her being a mother, which is a big part of who she is as a character.

Scarlet Witch Needs To Come Back To The MCU - Just Not Now

elizabeth olsen as wanda maximoff scarlet witch in wandavision

The Scarlet Witch still has a lot more story to tell in the MCU, with the character only needing to sit out of Phase 5 to allow some time to pass between her return and the current wave of criticism. Wanda is a very important character that can serve as the connection between many groups of heroes, such as the Avengers, the Midnight Suns, and the X-Men in the future. Wanda also has a number of iconic storylines that could lead to a full-on MCU crossover, such as the famous X-Men story House of M.

Wanda killing the Illuminati could also lead to another MCU multiverse adventure, as heroes from Earth-838 could choose to come to the MCU to get revenge on the Scarlet Witch. That story could possibly be part of Avengers: Secret Wars, with Earth-838 and the main MCU Earth colliding through an incursion. While Phase 5 might not feature Wanda, the Scarlet Witch is likely to return for a big role in the future of the MCU.

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