Scarlet Witch Will Skip Both ‘Avengers’ Movies, A Disney Disaster

We are constantly hearing rumors about which new or old MCU characters will be featured in either Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars or both, and there is never any real certainty about any of it.

However, it’s one thing when an actor says outright they’re not going to be there, and an important one, and in a way that does not seem like they’re being coy or simply haven’t been invited yet.

That’s what’s currently happening with Elizabeth Olsen, who has confirmed that her Scarlet Witch will not be in either of the upcoming Avengers movies. “I didn’t realize this until about six years ago, but because Marvel and its influence takes up so much physical time and space in the world, it’s really important for me to make choices outside of Marvel that reflect my own taste,” Olsen told The Hollywood Reporter on her tour for The Assessment, her upcoming film.

Avengers production is starting in London soon where Olsen just returned to the US after finishing a different film in London, Sam Esmail’s Panic Carefully. Now, she says she’s “moving on” to film a pilot for an FX series called Seven Sisters.

Unlike many other Marvel actors, Olsen has never really seemed all that passionate about returning to the role (her right!), which she is constantly asked about. But while she politely says “maybe, who knows!”, this is the first time where we’re hearing her say “no, guys, it’s not happening.” And not in a “Andrew Garfield is lying to our face about not being in Spider-Man: No Way Home” kind of way.

While I can certainly understand and respect Olsen’s choice to do multiple different projects instead of being in MCU lockdown for another half decade, this is kind of a disaster on the Marvel end.

A large portion of Disney Plus’s MCU TV series has been built around Wanda and her personal extended universe. There was her show, WandaVision, which then led to her villainous appearance in Multiverse of Madness. From that, we got Agatha All Along, which featured her rival escorting Wanda’s wayward son Billy Maximoff through The Witch’s Road. Now, he’s looking for his twin brother in possibly a new show or Agatha sequel, and we have another upcoming series focused on Vision, returning to Wanda’s partner after the events of WandaVision. And she is apparently not showing up anywhere here, at all.

Then, the Avengers movies. Some of the rumors were that Wanda would almost lead Doomsday after her resurrection, but having her not in it at all will devastate fans. She has deep ties to Doctor Doom in the comics making her an ideal choice to be featured there. Then, with Secret Wars, she is a key link between the existing MCU and the incoming X-Men, with one foot in both worlds (albeit the MCU version had been written a certain way pre-FOX rights). The fact that she’s not going to be in either almost seems ludicrous.

But again, maybe she’s just done. I mean, she’s been in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame, WandaVision and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. I don’t think her committing to the MCU for five movies and an entire TV series should be viewed as anything but impressive.

Still, it’s sad. Maybe someday. But not anytime remotely soon, it seems.

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