Elizabeth Olsen Defends Marvel Movies: “Throwing Marvel Under the Bus Takes Away From the Hundreds of Very Talented Crew People”

You can go ahead and just miss Elizabeth Olsen with all that Marvel movie hate. Olsen is out doing press for her new movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and she was thrown the question about how some of the “greats” of cinema (Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola) have been critical of Marvel Studios and their films in recent years.  Well, Elizabeth Olsen didn’t dodge the issue – in fact she let it be known that those kinds of dismissals of Marvel movies are actually an insult to a very large swatch of hard-working and talented people that make them possible:

“I’m not saying we’re making indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which bugs me,” Olsen said in answer to The Independent. “These are some of the most amazing set designers, costume designers, camera operators – I feel diminishing them with that kind of criticism takes away from all the people who do award-winning films, that also work on these projects.

From an actor’s point of view, whatever, I get it; I totally understand that there’s a different kind of performance that’s happening. But I do think throwing Marvel under the bus takes away from the hundreds of very talented crew people. That’s where I get a little feisty about that.”

There has always been a low-key sense of ridicule in the movie industry when it comes to comic book movies – in fact, it’s that very stigma that long kept actors of “prestige” or “A-List status” from jumping into the genre. Even as the late-2000s transitioned into the 2010s, and films like Iron Man and The Dark Knight brought top-notch acting and directorial talent to the forefront, still the stigma remained. It’s not just on the Oscar-bait directors of the past: it’s also within the acting community itself, and even within certain sectors of these franchise universe ensembles. 

Some actors can barely hide their mockery of the harness work, flamboyant costuming, formulaic story structure, and green screen acting that go with superhero movies. Meanwhile, there are others that have embraced the superficialities of the genre and helped to infuse it with serious performance and dramatic weight. Elizabeth Olsen is definitely one of the latter examples. Olsen’s latest work in the WandaVision TV series – and now Doctor Strange 2 – has all but reset the bar for what fans expect Marvel can do with dramatic depth. The only question left is: What is Wanda’s future in the MCU after Doctor Strange 2? 

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