INTERVIEW: Elizabeth Olsen Talks About Wanda’s Journey From ‘WandaVision’ to ‘Multiverse of Madness’
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is getting ready to hit theaters, and while we’re excited for all the twists and turns that director Sam Raimi brings to the world of Stephen Strange, there’s also a lot riding on this movie for some of our favorite characters.
Multiverse of Madness marks the introduction of America Chavez to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by Xochitl Gomez. It’s the youngest we’ve seen America, at 14 years old, and she’s facing off against a universe far different from her own. It’s interesting to see how Gomez comes into her own as the character and how the movie serves her storyline in the midst of Stephen and Wanda’s.
What was fun for me was attending the virtual press conference for the movie with the entire cast and asking a question of one of my favorite actresses about my favorite girl in the MCU: Wanda Maximoff.
Jacqueline Coley from Rotten Tomatoes moderated an incredible press conference that included Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Raimi, Michael Waldron, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Elizabeth Olsen, and Kevin Feige. While everyone wanted to try to get a bit of a scoop or information on these characters we love so much, I wanted to know more about how we see Wanda’s journey continue from WandaVision into the Wanda we see in Multiverse of Madness.
“I’m gonna sound so repetitive,” Olsen said with a laugh. “I think through her processing of what happened in WandaVision, and through her processing her destiny, we find her in a place of strength and a set of belief system that she can rely on. It’s all connected from WandaVision.”
Talking about Multiverse of Madness without spoiling anything
The problem with talking about a movie like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and especially a character like Wanda Maximoff, is that you can’t just explain her journey without spoiling some things. So now, after seeing the movie, I understand Olsen’s response and the problem with asking about any of these characters, really. Their journeys are all so connected to each other that you can’t talk about one without spoiling the other.
But knowing that, for Olsen at least, her take on Wanda as a continuation does explain a lot about Wanda in Multiverse of Madness. We’re thrown right into the midst of everything going on, and it can feel like everything is happening too quickly, including things about these characters we’ve known for multiple movies. Knowing that, for Olsen, this was still a continuation of her journey emotionally and processing her “destiny” does change, at least for me, my read on some of what happens with Wanda in the movie. And if there’s anyone I trust with Wanda’s journey in this, it is Elizabeth Olsen.
She knows Wanda through and through, and her performance in Multiverse of Madness is next level. And viewing her journey through this lens, through the idea that it is Wanda’s belief system, is a fascinating way of looking at Multiverse of Madness when it debuts tomorrow night.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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