Elizabeth Olsen has admitted that her personal film taste doesn't necessarily align with the projects she's been a part of, namely Marvel films and TV shows. The 36-year-old actress, who played Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe over nearly a decade, recently appeared on the podcast Wild Card with Rachel Martin. There, she admitted that Marvel projects are not the kind of entertainment at the top of her watchlist, revealing that she feels pressure to "prove" her creative taste when it comes to the content she consumes.
“I think I haven’t always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste and that is something I feel like I’m still trying to prove when I meet people,” Olsen admitted. “Especially if it’s a work type meeting and be able to express my personal taste in films and literature, and so I still think I have that to prove. Because I have spent so many years doing Marvel that I feel like all the other jobs I have to do have to really reflect my personal taste because as much as I love being a part of this world — and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do with the character — it’s not really the art that I consume. Which I have been very honest about."
Olsen joined the MCU in 2014, when her Wanda Maximoff role appeared in the post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Following her debut, she appeared in five other MCU films (including Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame). She also became the main star of Marvel Television's WandaVision series on Disney+. Her latest MCU appearance was in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where her character seemingly died.
Olsen later said that she's still proud of her work with Marvel Studios, despite preferring to watch titles outside of the superhero genre.
“I thought they were such great Greek-type scale stories that reflected politics, culture in a really lovely way,” Olsen said. “And so I felt really proud to jump into it. And then, within the last 10 years, it’s taken on this narrative of like, it’s like a hot take, whether an actor says they want to, they would never do a Marvel movie or not.”
Is Elizabeth Olsen returning to the MCU?
Last year, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she's open to returning as Wanda, "when there's a way to use her well. More recently, she told Today: “Well, if someone hasn't seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, I did die," when asked about her MCU future. While there's a chance that Olsen could be telling the truth here, she might under strict instructions to not share anything away during interviews.
The cast announcement live-steam of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday didn't mention Elizabeth Olsen, but Marvel Studios teased that more cast members will be revealed soon. However, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige implied that Scarlet Witch will return at some point, telling the Omelete that he's "excited" to see what comes next for Wanda. In Agatha All Along, Wanda was briefly mentioned, and when the show described her whereabouts, the show specifically used the word "gone" instead of dead".
While there are no signs that she will return as Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Doomsday, her MCU future remains unclear. More recently, The Assessment actress has been focused on doing work for smaller projects such as Martha Marcy May Marlene, Wind River, and Ingrid Goes West.
