WandaVision Star Elizabeth Olsen Defends Green-Screen Acting in Marvel Projects From Critics

The Marvel star hopes fans will someday get to see performances pre-effects.

By Nicole Drum

Anyone who has ever seen a modern superhero movie knows that the use of a green screen is a fairly integral part of the filmmaking experience. After all, how else do you get certain effects, like super powers to look real or get characters to interact with, say, something like the Hulk? But while the use of green screen and CGI is a big part of making a superhero film — and many other kinds of movies as well — it's also an incredibly challenging thing for an actor to do and WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen has no problem saying so. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Olsen addressed the work that goes into green screen acting, noting that it at times feels like a child playing make-believe, but that if people could see the work without the effects, they'd understand the challenges.

"You really have to embrace this dumb point of view, where you feel like a 7-year-old playing make-believe," she said. "I do believe that at some point they should release a full version of one of the movies, without any of the special effects so people can see how hard it is."

The idea that acting with green screen is challenging isn't something that actors haven't brought up before nor is the idea of seeing what things look like before the effects are put in place, but generally when fans see the green screen work, it's usually as a special feature or a blooper reel — packaged in such a way where the scope of the effort is somewhat minimized. Olsen is right when she says that seeing a full film or performance without the special effects may offer more insight for viewers on just how challenging it can be to perform when there's nothing there.

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As for when we'll next get to see Olsen do some of that green screen acting — and by that we mean see her return as Scarlet Witch, it doesn't sound like there's any concrete plans for that to happen at the moment, though Olsen has previously said that if there's a good reason for the character to return, she'll be glad to come back.

"It's a character I love going back to and when there's a way to use her well and I think I've been lucky when I started, I was used well… and they kind of didn't know what to do with me for a second there!" Olsen said. "If there's a good way to use here, I'm always happy to come back."

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