Elizabeth Olsen has been deleted without explanation from an eagerly awaited new Marvel project, which seems ominous for the future of the Scarlet Witch in the future of the MCU.
Credit: Marvel Studios
Elizabeth Olsen has starred as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in six installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). While her character was once positioned as one of the most important figures of the MCU (and according to Kevin Feige’s sliding scale, its most powerful hero) and given her own starring series Wandavision, she seemingly died at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
As any Marvel fan knows, death is not exactly permanent within the world of superhero movies and comics, so fans have already been chomping at the bit for Elizabeth Olsen to return and redeem the horrific atrocities committed by Scarlet Witch in her attempts to cross the Multiverse.
Credit: Marvel Studios
However, it increasingly seems Marvel Studios is working to minimize her role in the franchise both in the future and the past.
It was first announced in 2022 that Marvel Studios would release a definitive timeline of the MCU to date, hopefully clearing up some of the ambiguity as to when which movie and show happened and basically explaining why certain characters are changing in the way they are.
The first look at Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline prominently featured Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, just between Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi and James Brolin as Thanos.
However, the updated cover of the book posted by publisher Penguin Random House on its website shows an altered image in which Elizabeth Olsen has been replaced by fellow Marvel antiheroes Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).
Credit: Marvel StudiosWhat Could This Mean for Elizabeth Olsen and Marvel
Since her character’s ambiguous death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Elizabeth Olsen has been cagey about her future with Marvel.
The actress has never outright said that she was done with the mega-franchise but seems to be leaving things open. On the other hand, Kevin Feige has outright said he wants Elizabeth Olsen back, saying (per Variety), “I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash, I don’t know what that means…I’d work with Lizzie for another 100 years if we could. Anything’s possible in the multiverse! We’ll have to see.”
Credit: Marvel Studios
We also recently reported that, despite rumors, it does not seem that Elizabeth Olsen will reprise her role in the upcoming Marvel series Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
It seems increasingly likely that Marvel is scrubbing the character from prominence in favor of other characters. While the cover of this book may just be an image, it is also being promoted as being a definitive guide to the MCU, and taking out a primary character says something.
Scarlet Witch and Loki
In this case, it is notable that Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch was replaced by Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino, who will soon be appearing in the second season of Loki on Disney+.
Credit: Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios has been hemorrhaging viewers and receiving historically terrible reviews for its most recent shows, so it makes sense that it would try to prominently feature some of its increasingly rare popular characters.
If that is at the expense of Elizabeth Olsen and Scarlet Witch, it seems that Marvel is willing to do it.
