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Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch Hopes Risk Repeating Past MCU Mistakes
Elizabeth Olsen's hopes for the MCU's Scarlet Witch run the risk of repeating Phase 4's mistakes. Olsen debuted as Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron, initially as a villain but eventually joining the Avengers for adventures in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. After the traumatic events of the Infinity Saga, the MCU's Phase 4 set Wanda off on a journey to becoming a villain, with appearances in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seriously marring the good reputation she had maintained in previous MCU projects, transforming Wanda into the corrupted Scarlet Witch.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with the Scarlet Witch stopping her rampage across the realities and apparently sacrificing herself to bring down Mount Wundagore, destroying every copy of the Darkhold throughout the multiverse. Even so, many expect the Scarlet Witch to return to the MCU, including Elizabeth Olsen herself, who recently revealed in an exclusive interview that she wants Marvel Studios to "give her some redemption," as she feels as though "there's a lot more humor to be had with her." Olsen's update on the Scarlet Witch's MCU future is exciting but could pose some serious problems should Wanda actually return.
The Scarlet Witch Deserves Redemption After WandaVision & Doctor Strange 2
The Scarlet Witch has had an incredibly tumultuous journey throughout her MCU career, taking her from villain to hero and to antihero before showing the full extent of her potential under the influence of the Darkhold in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Many criticized her descent into darkness, especially after Phase 4's WandaVision seemed to tease her heading out on a more heroic adventure, but her actions at the end of Multiverse of Madness seemed to start her on a redemptive journey. If the Scarlet Witch were to return to the MCU, this would surely continue, potentially leading to her joining the Avengers in the MCU's Phase 6.
Wanda has perhaps seen more heartbreak than most of the MCU's heroes, losing her parents as a child, brother during Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Vision in both Avengers: Infinity War and WandaVision, with her imaginary children thrown in the mix too. Elizabeth Olsen is well within her right to hope for a redemption arc for Wanda when she inevitably returns, which could be as soon as Phase 5's Agatha: Coven of Chaos. The Scarlet Witch deserves a redemptive storyline more than most of Marvel Studios' heroes, making up for her mistakes in the MCU's Phase 4, but this could also run the risk of damaging her previous MCU stories.
Thor: Love & Thunder Failed Thor’s MCU Journey With Comedy
The fact that Elizabeth Olsen hopes for more humor for the Scarlet Witch's return could spell bad news for her future in the MCU. This was previously seen when Chris Hemsworth reprised his role of Thor for Phase 4's Thor: Love & Thunder, which quickly became one of the MCU's most divisive projects. After hitting major success with Thor: Ragnarok's more comedic take on the Asgardian God of Thunder, Taika Waititi returned for Love & Thunder and tried to hit gold a second time, but Love & Thunder missed the mark and damaged Thor's reputation in the MCU, which would be a shame to repeat with the Scarlet Witch.
One major aspect of Love & Thunder's failure was that the film ignored Thor's transformative story throughout Infinity War and Endgame. Thor was taken to rock bottom, so it was confusing to then see him inhabit the comedic, goofy nature of Love & Thunder, as he should have still been affected by the trauma of the MCU's Infinity Saga. Even Thor: Ragnarok was able to capture the more serious tones of Thor's journey while still bringing humor to the MCU, but Love & Thunder doubled down on the funny at the expense of the emotional impact of the story. This is a mistake that needs to be avoided with the Scarlet Witch.
WandaVision’s Comedy Was Great, But Wanda Has Been Changed Too Much
There is certainly precedence for the Scarlet Witch to return with a bit of humor, particularly after WandaVision demonstrated how versatile a performer Elizabeth Olsen actually is. WandaVision's sitcom-style format was the perfect playground for Olsen and Vision actor Paul Bettany to experiment with different comedic styles, and this enhanced their characterizations tenfold, breathing new life into the characters that were completely unexpected. While this was great to see, a repeat simply wouldn't work for the Scarlet Witch's arc, as she has been changed too much by the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which can't be ignored.
Marvel Studios has a lot more stories to tell with the Scarlet Witch, so her return to the MCU would certainly make sense and could help to enhance upcoming projects such as Coven of Chaos, Vision Quest, and the Multiverse Saga's Avengers films. However, this needs to be handled with care and shouldn't just see Wanda return to the same mental state that she had previous to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Scarlet Witch will surely have been changed by her actions in the MCU's Phase 4, and this must inform Elizabeth Olsen's performance of the character going forward.
