Avengers: Doomsday Director Gives Blunt Response About Elizabeth Olsen's Return

One of Avengers: Doomsday's directors has hinted at whether Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch may appear in the upcoming MCU movie. Wanda Maximoff's future in the MCU has been hotly debated ever since the character's apparent demise in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, leading fans to speculate about her potential return in the upcoming Avengers movies.

At the premiere of their upcoming film The Electric State, one half of the directing duo Joe Russo addressed a fan question regarding Elizabeth Olsen's return in Avengers: Doomsday. While signing autographs on the red carpet, a fan (@catherinecomth) posted the director's response on TikTok when he was asked whether Wanda would be coming back in the next Avengers film. 

Russo had only a brief window to respond, but he smiled and said, "We shall see."

Elizabeth Olsen herself has since addressed her potential return in the upcoming Avengers movies. The WandaVision star recently worked on the movie Panic Carefully in the UK, spurring speculation as to whether she would remain in the country for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars' London shoot.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether she would be staying for the Marvel productions, Olsen confirmed that she had since returned to the United States and would soon be working on the pilot for FX's Seven Sisters.

She also talked to the outlet about her attitude towards choosing roles going forward, saying that she wants to pursue films that "reflect her own taste:"

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. 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."

Although it's still murky if Elizabeth Olsen will return, Avengers: Doomsday is primed with a stacked cast at the helm of returning directors Joe and Anthony Russo. The movie will introduce Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) and assemble fan-favorite characters like Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie).

The fifth Avengers movie is currently filming in London, with set videos giving a sneak peek of what to expect from the film's grandiose plot.

When Will Elizabeth Olsen Return to the MCU?

At this point, the only MCU project Elizabeth Olsen has been confirmed to be a part of is in a voice role capacity for the 2025 animated series Marvel Zombies.

While it seems that Olsen will not be around for Doomsday's filming initially, there is always the chance that she could join in for the fun later on in production.

There are undoubtedly a whole array of surprises and unrevealed cameos set for the next Avengers movies, so it is possible that Olsen is playing coy here to maintain a bit of mystery for fans heading into the upcoming crossover events.

Wanda Maximoff is heavily tied to the Multiverse after all, so her inclusion in some fashion would make sense, potentially as a Multiversal guide to her fellow Avengers or a harbinger of its potential dangers.

For a long time, fans have hoped for the Scarlet Witch to receive her own movie. This was escalated after a production listing sparked the rumor a solo Scarlet Witch movie was in development from WandaVision writer Jac Schaeffer. However, Schaeffer adjusted expectations about a Scarlet Witch movie last year, saying they were still just "hoping" it would happen.

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to release on May 1, 2026.