Though rumors persist that Wanda Maximoff will be a part of Avengers: Doomsday, Elizabeth Olsen continues to deny that she will appear in next year's massive MCU event movie.
We have heard various conflicting reports over the past year or so, with some scoopers claiming that the Scarlet Witch will have a major part as an ally of Doctor Doom, while others believe she will only appear briefly to set up a much bigger role in Avengers: Secret Wars.
While we would be very surprised if Olsen didn't show up in Secret Wars, the actress has now told The Playlist that she has "no idea" when she will reprise the role.
“I’ve been really proud of what we’ve been able to make. Really proud,” Olsen said when asked when fans can expect to see her back in the MCU. “But I don’t have an answer for that. [When told fans could imagine her turning up in Avengers: Doomsday] she smiled. “Well, I can’t. Honestly, I do wait. I want to see [her] return in this role because I think what they’ve done with her is really great, and I love the journey she’s taken. I think it’s always a fun one to get to go back into, and I just have no idea how or when, for sure.”
“I’m not really interested in just jumping from franchise to franchise,” she added. “I’m hoping to make things that are more reflective of culture and our time.”
This isn't the first time Olsen has denied that she will return for Doomsday - or Secret Wars - but it's probably fair to say that not many fans are buying it!
"I didn’t realize this until about six years ago, but because Marvel and its influence takes up so much physical time and space in the world, it’s really important for me to make choices outside of Marvel that reflect my own taste," Olsen said earlier this year. "Your taste does create the artist that you are, and that wasn’t something I was thinking about when I first started working. I was just grateful to be a working actor. I wanted to stretch myself into different roles, and I wasn’t really thinking about my taste. So the opportunity to return to films like this is a reflection of the people I want to work with and my own personal taste in ways, even if I’m not the filmmaker."
We haven't seen Wanda (alive, at least) since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, when the powerful former Avenger found some redemption for her villainous deeds by destroying every copy of the Darkhold and bringing a mountain down on top of herself.
A lot of fans were of the opinion that this "heel turn" didn't feel earned, and that the character's switch to a full-on villain between the events of WandaVision and the Doctor Strange sequel didn't really make complete sense. This is certainly debatable (Wanda's actions in the Disney+ series were highly... questionable, after all), but Olsen has shared similar sentiments herself.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were recently hit with significant delays, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
You can check out the full (for now) Doomsday cast list below.
• Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
• Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
• Tom Hiddleston as Loki
• Lewis Pullman as Sentry
• Florence Pugh as Yelena
• Danny Ramirez as Falcon
• Ian McKellen as Magneto
• Sebastian Stan as Bucky
• Winston Duke as M’Baku
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor
• Kelsey Grammer as Beast
• James Marsden as Cyclops
• Channing Tatum as Gambit
• Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
• Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm
• Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
• Patrick Stewart as Professor X
• Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
• Letitia Wright as Black Panther
• Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
• Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards
• Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
• Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm
• David Harbour as Red Guardian
• Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing
• Anthony Mackie as Captain America