Doctor Strange 2 Writer Explains How Scarlet Witch Stayed True to Her Comic Book Motivations

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Continue reading at your own risk! Scarlet Witch’s journey from hero to villain finally concluded in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as Elizabeth Olsen’s character sought to reunite with her twin boys via America Chavez’s multiverse-hopping powers. The topic of the Scarlet Witch becoming a full-blown villain was a hotly debated topic among Marvel fans, with one side feeling that Doctor Strange 2 betrayed WandaVision, and the other seeing this as a natural progression of Wanda Maximoff’s character. Screenwriter Michael Waldron discussed why the choice was made for Scarlet Witch to be the villain, and how it ties back to her comic book roots.

According to Waldron, Scarlet Witch’s arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was already heading to a villainous turn before he began work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, stating it was only a matter of when the Scarlet Witch made a heel turn.

“Well, first off, it’s true to who the comics’ version of the character is and what she does in the comics. It was always where Wanda was headed in the MCU, even as I inherited the movie,” Waldron told Rolling Stone. “The question just became, when would it happen? Certainly, there was a version of this movie where Wanda was part of the ensemble that ended, I guess, with her turning bad, and then she could have been an antagonist of another movie. But I feel like in that case, you would have had a watered-down version of Wanda going bad because it’s still Dr. Strange’s movie. She wouldn’t be the protagonist, and she wouldn’t really be the antagonist. You’d have to have a [different] antagonist throughout the entirety of most of the film.”

Waldron added how Scarlet Witch’s actions in the Disney+ series WandaVision factored heavily into Doctor Strange 2; most notably with Wanda reading from the Darkhold and the cursed book corrupting her.

“You know, she’s doing bad stuff throughout WandaVision. She does make the heroic choice to let go of all those people. But it’s also revealed to her that the family she’s built is not real,” Waldon said. “Then she gets the Darkhold at the end of the series and learns that there is a real version of her children out there. And if you’ve got the Book of the Damned whispering in your ear long enough that your kids are out there and you could go get ’em, maybe that can push you to do some terrible things.”

By the end of Doctor Strange 2, Scarlet Witch appeared to be fighting against her Darkhold influence. Seeing her twins Tommy and Billy terrified of her snapped Scarlet Witch back to reality, where she sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold paintings at Mount Wundagore. Since her body was never shown on screen, it’s possible that Scarlet Witch could have survived. Elizabeth Olsen has even teased what her MCU future could look like. Scarlet Witch has facilitated between hero and villain in the comics, so it’s not too surprising to see her go down this path on the big screen.

What did you think of how Scarlet Witch was depicted in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!