In 2021, WandaVision saw Wanda Maximoff finally become the MCU's Scarlet Witch. The show ended on a rather ominous note, with the Avenger last shown taking a deep dive into the Darkhold.
When we caught up with Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she'd been fully corrupted by the ancient tome and embarked on a rampage across the Multiverse in a bid to find real versions of her sons, Billy and Tommy. She ultimately saw the error of her ways and buried herself beneath Mount Wundagore in a moment of redemption.
Fans have been critical of the Scarlet Witch's villainous turn, blaming Doctor Strange sequel writer Michael Waldron for taking the character down the wrong path.
Those complaints were partially based on comments from Elizabeth Olsen, who said in a Vanity Fair interview that the movie's writers "had not seen it because it wasn't finished yet" when she criticised Wanda's arc for being "repetitive." Now, Waldron has weighed in during a recent Reddit AMA.
"I liked continuing to explore Strange's need for control, especially in the wake of his experience in Infinity War/Endgame," the writer told a fan. "And this mirrored Wanda's own struggle with control following WandaVision (which, contrary to what the internet tells you, I was reading/watching all the way through)."
"And his last lines to Wong, about how saving the world doesn't necessarily make you happy," Waldron added, "just felt resonant for such a powerful yet lonely character."
So, he was aware of what was happening in WandaVision. It's no secret that rewrites were taking place on set while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was being shot, so Olsen's conversation with Waldron may well have happened much earlier in production.
Further reflecting on his overall experience working on the movie, Waldron said, "I loved Strange and especially Benedict's performance as the character. It was a lot of fun to make that movie with him and Sam. The musical battle was mostly Sam, his team of great board artists (many of whom worked on his Spider-Man films), and Danny Elfman."
"And, of course, Benedict playing two parts. Rachel McAdams also sells the hell out of the ending when Strange is impaled on the fence and his third eye snaps open. I think it's one of the coolest parts of the movie."
Waldron later said that he and producer Richie Palmer came up with the idea of a zombified Strange together, and called it "the best lightbulb [moment] of my career." As you'll likely recall, Strange was forced to inhabit the body of his dead Variant during the movie's final act.
After working on Loki Season 1 and the Doctor Strange sequel, Waldron is now helping Stephen McFeely on the Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars scripts.