Elizabeth Olsen Addresses if Scarlet Witch is Hero or Villain in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Who is the villain of Doctor Strange 2? Marvel fans have been asking that ever since the sequel was announced, and the trailers haven’t exactly clarified the issue. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will live up to its title, as Spider-Man director Sam Raimi takes viewers on a wild (and at times frightening) ride through different realities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along the way, we’ll be meeting variant versions of Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch – any number of whom could be evil. A lot of fans also speculate that one of Marvel’s evil entities could be the true mastermind behind the threat. 

After WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch has become a major fan favorite of the MCU. Given the character’s complicated (and at times controversial) history in Marvel Comics, a lot of MCU fans are worried that the franchise could take Wanda through similar beats. So is Scarlet Witch THE villain of Doctor Strange 2?

Elizabeth Olsen had this to say when it came to the question of where Wanda Maximoff sits on the spectrum between hero and villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: 

“Yes, I’ve heard about this,” Olsen said in response to Jimmy Fallon inquiring about theories of the Scarlet Witch’s villainy. However, the Marvel actress made it clear that – as an actress – simple terms of black-and-white, good vs. evil aren’t really in her purview: 

“Well, I don’t think of any character I play as a villain, or a bad guy or a good guy. I love my characters. I’m their advocate. I defend them. I just played an axe murderer, and I love her and I think she’s fabulous.”

That’s some Marvel-level media training there, which helps Olsen sidestep the very basic question at hand. Of course, in the context of Multiverse of Madness, the question may not be as basic as we think… As posters and trailers have teased, Elizabeth Olsen could likely end up playing several versions of Wanda and/or Scarlet Witch – from the woman of domestic bliss we met at WandaVision’s start, to the powerful, reality-altering sorceress she became, to the “zombie” version of the character we met in the What If…? animated series. In other words, the real answer Fallon was fishing for could turn out to be “All of the above.” And how could Elizabeth Olsen possibly explain that without spoiling thirty other things? 

Marvel Comics made Scarlet Witch the fall-girl for everything from the genocide of mutants to breaking of Marvel’s entire reality. If that turns out to be the case in the MCU as well, there will be those who walk away from Doctor Strange 2 less than happy. 

“Well, there’s iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse,” director Sam Raimi previously teased. “So, if I were to say Strange … I’m not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now opening in theaters.