Marvel Studios reportedly has big plans for Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch that will, to some extent, fix Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The 2022 sequel was criticized for many things, not least of which was its handling of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff. The MCU sequel effectively regressed her character development from WandaVision by rushing her transformation into an unhinged villain. That all stemmed from the deadly combo of a lifetime of trauma with the Darkhold's chaotic corruption that culminated when she came to her senses and buried herself beneath Mount Wundagore to destory every copy of the Book of the Damned across the Multiverse.
According to a Patreon report from scooper Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios is developing a solo project starring Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch. The news comes amid her ongoing four-year absence from the MCU that began with her controversial role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
It should be noted that a Scarlet Witch project being "in development" at Marvel Studios doesn't guarantee that it will see the light of day, and especially not that it would be released anytime soon. The studio has been known to play around with many movies and shows over the years, that fans never have or will see.
While Marvel Studios will officially "reset" the MCU and possibly recast some key characters after Avengers: Secret Wars, Scarlet Witch fans can rest easy, as Elizabeth Olsen reportedly won't be among those replaced in Phase 7.
Olsen's omission from Avengers: Doomsday's cast announcement undeniably got some of the saddest sighs from audiences. But, if rumors are to be believed, a Wanda Maximoff Variant may appear in Avengers 5 after all, finally spotlighting her familial ties to Magneto and, of course, Quicksilver.
The jury is still out on what comes next for Earth-616's Wanda, especially as it's still a mystery whether she actually died in Doctor Strange 2. Many are convinced her true comeback will be saved for a pivotal role in Avengers: Secret Wars, which could set up her return and potential solo project in Phase 7 and the Mutant Saga.
Whenever it may happen, it's clear that Olsen's Scarlet Witch isn't done yet in the MCU, and her return could retroactively improve Multiverse of Madness. It would bring a sigh of relief to those concerned that Marvel Studios had left one of its most-beloved characters of seven years with a rather anticlimactic farewell.
Here's What Scarlet Witch's MCU Solo Movie Should Look Like
The perfect contender to lead the way for Scarlet Witch's next solo outing is Jac Schaeffer, who served as head writer on WandaVision and Agatha All Along and directed three episodes on the latter. She will forgo those duties on the trilogy's final chapter, VisionQuest, to Terry Matalas, having told The Hollywood Reporter that development "overlapped [with Agatha] in a way that wasn’t tenable.
Schaeffer proved herself with the MCU's magical mythos already with her WandaVision-related projects, and her schedule appears open for now. She has even advocated for a Scarlet Witch solo movie amid past rumors, saying she was "just here hoping" that the much-requested blockbuster becomes a reality.
Marvel Studios could pit Scarlet Witch against any number of supernatural entities in a solo project, or even use the post-Secret Wars soft reboot to explore her mutant history in the comics. She could come to blows with Chthon, the creator of the Darkhold, following up on her decision to destroy all copies of the Book of the Damned across the Multiverse in the Doctor Strange sequel.
From there, the MCU could add Wanda's super-powered sons, Wiccan and Speed, into the mix, along with her synthezoid husand, Vision. However, doing so may risk overlapping with the themes of WandaVision and detract from it truly being a solo outing for the reality-bending Chaos Magic user.
