Marvel fans are holding out hope for the Scarlet Witch’s MCU return. They have been ever since her mysterious sacrifice in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And with Avengers: Doomsday, VisionQuest, and Avengers: Secret Wars all on the horizon, there is ample opportunity for Marvel Studios to bring the character back.
Star Elizabeth Olsen has been constantly asked about whether we will see Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again. Her responses since her apparent departure from the franchise in 2022 have ranged from excitable to work on non-Marvel projects to nostalgic reflections on her time as the character. More recently, she sounds more hopeful about a comeback at some point. Unfortunately, her most recent comments cast doubt on it happening in the near-future.
Elizabeth Olsen addresses Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars comeback rumors (and it’s not what you hoped)
Is Elizabeth Olsen in Avengers: Doomsday? It’s all fans have wanted to know ever since the attention-grabbing five-hour livestream announced the film’s full cast and her name wasn’t on there. But, honestly, since Wanda’s eventual return from the “dead” would be a major surprise, Marvel Studios was never going to spoil that. And thus, fans held out hope for a potential return in the upcoming film. After all, the Steve Rogers trailer that came out nearly a year after the cast reveal confirmed that not every name had been announced. Could the same be true for Wanda?
Olsen recently made an appearance C2E2 this weekend, where she was asked about a potential MCU comeback. She didn’t have the most hopeful response, revealing:
“I know nothing. I know about VisionQuest, because I’ve seen Paul in the last six months. I know nothing about any of it. Is [Secret Wars] what happens after? I’m not kidding. Why did I think there were two Secret Wars? Are there not?”
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. | Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios
Naturally, fans aren’t thrilled about this response as it might actually suggest that Wanda won’t return to the MCU in the near-future. It also seems to suggest that she definitely isn’t in Avengers: Doomsday, which has already filmed and starts reshoots soon. Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean she is telling the truth (remember she did have us all convinced Wanda wouldn’t return in Avengers: Endgame back in 2019 and she ultimately did), but it’s not the most reassuring response, either.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters this December, but VisionQuest will come out before that – and it is almost certainly going to have more answers to the overarching Scarlet Witch mystery. It is, after all, the third installment in the WandaVision Trilogy, coming after WandaVision itself and first spinoff Agatha All Along. Paul Bettany reprises his role as Vision, while Ruaridh Mollica will debut as Tommy Maximoff – one of Wanda and Vision’s sons. And, as his twin brother Billy (played by Joe Locke) resurrected his soul in Agatha All Along, it’s clear that the Maximoff family is slowly coming back together.
For years after Wanda’s sacrifice in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, her status in the MCU was definitively dead. Although fans believed she would return, all involved in the franchise assured us that we had seen the last of the character. Agatha changed things when Agatha Harkness herself cast doubt on the character’s fate, teasing fans with the possibility of an inevitable return. With her sons and Vision seemingly set to reunite, it is only fitting that she returns at some point as well. And it wouldn’t make sense to do that after the Multiverse Saga as this arc has been such a fixture of it.
(L-R): Jett Klyne as Tommy, Julian Hilliard as Billy and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION. | Photo by Suzanne Tenner / Marvel Studios
So, could she actually still appear in Avengers: Doomsday. There’s certainly still hope. Rumors and reports have claimed that she will be involved in the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion in some capacity. Some claim that she will be manipulated by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom to do his bidding, while others suggest that she will be one of the only few beings powerful enough to stop him.
The truth is that the longer time goes on, the more unlikely an appearance in Avengers: Doomsday might become or Wanda. Although it has a large ensemble cast of 30+ MCU stars, it’s expected to be a more condensed and focused character movie, allowing its 2027 sequel Avengers: Secret Wars to be the larger-than-life ensemble piece with cameos and returns rom across the Marvel Multiverse. With that in mind, Wanda’s return could take place there instead. After all, her comeback was among Avengers: Endgame’s big moments; there’s no reason to think it couldn’t happen again in Avengers: Secret Wars.
We’ll have to wait and see how the MCU’s plans all pan out for the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion, but it’s clear that the fans want Elizabeth Olsen’s return as the Scarlet Witch to be among the big moments that go down in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.