Elizabeth Olsen and the character of Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch, has become the darling of the Marvel cinematic universe, thanks to Disney+ show WandaVision.
She’s been in six Marvel properties so far (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) but in her interview with The Independent, the actress reveals she didn’t think she would make it this far. “I only signed on to do a couple movies, so it continues to be a surprise when they want to use me for more projects,” she says, adding: “I’ve been confused by how lucky I got with them wanting to make WandaVision.”
Prior to Multiverse of Madness, Olsen was used to working on ensemble projects, and working solo on WandaVision, Disney’s first television show, made her nervous. “When we were doing press for WandaVision, I was mortified because it was the first show from the Marvel universe. There was this total fear, and now I have this pressure all over again connecting to Doctor Strange. I just didn’t have it as part of those ensemble films.” Olsen admits that this even extends to viewing the end product. “I’ll see it eventually,” she says.
I wonder what somebody in her position feels about the criticism directed Marvel’s way in recent years. Most controversially, Martin Scorsese described MCU films as being “closer to theme parks” than cinema, while The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola described them as “prototypes made over and over and over again to look different”. Olsen says it’s when people “make them seem like a lesser type of art” that she gets frustrated.
There’s been some criticism against the film as fans talk about superhero/MCU fatigue, and the argument that these movies are not real cinema, Olsen believes these critiques take away from the people who bring these films to life. “I’m not saying we’re making indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which bugs me,” she says. “These are some of the most amazing set designers, costume designers, camera operators – I feel diminishing them with that kind of criticism takes away from all the people who do award-winning films that also work on these projects.”
She continues her point, “From an actor’s point of view, whatever, I get it; I totally understand that there’s a different kind of performance that’s happening. But I do think throwing Marvel under the bus takes away from the hundreds of very talented crew people. That’s where I get a little feisty about that.”
