Elizabeth Olsen Explains Why She Still Hasn't Seen Doctor Strange 2 Despite Marvel Sending Her a Screener

Elizabeth Olsen may have starred in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – but that doesn't mean she's actually interested in seeing the film. Case in point: while doing a recent round of interviews, Elizabeth Olsen admitted that she still hasn't seen Doctor Strange 2, despite its successful run in theaters ($950.6 million worldwide); its big debut on Disney+ streaming, and the fact that Disney sent her a personal copy of the film to screen! 

While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Elizabeth Olsen confirmed that she still has not seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ("No, I haven't seen it still [laughs]" ). She also clarified that not watching her own films is not some general policy she has ("I'm like one of those people who, like, wants to study something so I can figure out how to make it better"), it's just that fate has allegedly been against her: 

"I had a cold when we had the premiere, and I didn't want to sit through it," Olsen explains, later elaborating that "I asked them to send me a copy so I could watch it. And it was – like it had my name on it, and then it had like the time I was watching it, and I didn't want to watch it like that... it was distracting." 

What Elizabeth Olsen says is no doubt true, but there's also a massive unspoken truth potentially hanging over all this: Elizabeth Olsen doesn't want to watch Doctor Strange 2.

It's been no secret that Doctor Strange 2 left a lot of Marvel fans upset (if not underwhelmed). Sam Raimi's decision to turn Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) into a murderous supervillain of horror movie proportions will likely remain one of the most divisive character turns in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – especially after the nuanced and complex (and awards-worthy) work she did in Marvel's WandaVision TV series. Watching Scarlet Witch's arc take that dark left turn (and all the wire-work required) may not have been Olsen's favorite performance to give – and there have certainly been clues that hint at that fact. 

Olsen looked clearly tense and "on" with her star persona during the premiere of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In fact, in one video from the premiere that went viral (see below), you can actually hear Elizabeth Olsen confide in co-star Julian Hilliard (Billy Maximoff) that she's not going to watch the movie becasue she's "scared": 

"I'm not going to watch it, I'm so scared," Olsen tells Hilliard. She then covers her mouth with her hand before adding "I know, how silly is that?" 

It's also strange that Elizabeth Olsen is changing her own answer to Jimmy Fallon from a previous interview – where she openly admitted that anxiety over the scope and big-budget expectations of Marvel movies were taking a toll on her: 

"It was amazing to have a premiere in front of fans," Olsen said to Fallon. "I don't watch them...I haven't seen it. I do watch myself, but I just decided I can't watch these Marvel movies at a premiere anymore. Every time, I just watch it and I look around me and I'm like, 'Well, it's our first flop.' Every time. I saw Avengers: Endgame, and I looked around me and I said 'It's our first flop.' And so I just decided I don't want to put myself through this experience again. I'll see it at some point."

At this point, it's hard to believe that Elizabeth Olsen still just 'hasn't gotten around' to seeing Doctor Strange 2... 

Do you think she should? 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is streaming on Disney+.