As Agatha Harkness' coven adds an important member of the Young Avengers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe inAgatha All Along, there are obvious questions about whether a full-blown Maximoff family reunion is in the cards. With Joe Locke’s Billy Maximoff/Wiccan sure to make it off the Witches' Road, and Paul Bettany’s Vision coming back forVision Quest, only Tommy/Speed and the Scarlet Witch herself are MIA. The problem is,Agatha All Alongmakes it very clear that Wanda Maximoff is dead and buried.
A mainstay of theAvengersmovies since her debut in the mid-credits scene ofCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, Elizabeth Olsen’s portrayal of Wanda Maximoff has been praised as one of theMCU’s best performances. There have been plenty of questions about whether she’ll reprise her role in the comingDoomsday/Secret Warsmovies. While anything is possible with the ever-expanding Multiverse,Agatha All Alongis dousing these fires by trying a little too hard to remind fans that Wanda is dead.
As a refresher, Wanda ‘broke bad’ duringDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,finally embracing her Scarlet Witch persona that was teased at the end ofWandaVision. Long-time fans of the character were largely disappointed withhowMultiverse of Madnesshandled Wanda’s arc, and how it (literally) came crashing down when she was buried under the rubble of Mount Wundagore.
Agatha All Alongis set three years afterWandaVision, with Billy Maximoff heading down the Witches' Road in search of his brother. Several theories suggest that Billy’s goal at the end of the road would be to reunite with his mother. However, the MCU seems to be taking a much slower approach to potentially bringing Wanda back. For now,Agatha All Alongis hell-bent on reminding viewers that Wanda is deceased. The series opener gave its ownnod toThe Wizard of Ozwith a direct quote saying she’s"really, most sincerely dead,“as well as the parallel of Wanda being ‘crushed’ like the Wicked Witch of the East.
In October 16’s episode, “Familiar by Thy Side,” and things went into overdrive with no fewer than four mentions that Wanda is dead. The most obvious came when Billy was trying to piece together the fractured Maximoff family tree, and it was written on paper that Wanda is dead. The return ofWandaVision’s divisive Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters)again confirmed Wanda’s deceased status. Finally, Agatha implied that even with magic, she’s gone forever. For hopeful fans, though, this is just classic MCU misdirection.
Others have picked up on Agatha’s mention to Billy that because his secret is out,“Every witch with a beating heart can hear you now.“This means that if Wanda is out there somewhere, she’s almost certainly heading toward her son now that Lilia Calderu’s (Patti LuPone) is broken.Multiverse of Madnessshowed how Wanda was willing to cross to realities to try and get her kids back. Assuming thatTommy is also on the way, a mother’s love could be just what she needs to return to the land of the living.
For now, Wanda remains dead. The book titledMarvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timelinementions Wanda’s death on Mount Wundagore in a passage that says:
“[Wanda] destroys Wundagore – and collapses it upon herself – ending two great threats to all of the Multiverse.”
The book then clarifies this, including a symbol that denotes amajor MCU character death.
What Has Elizabeth Olsen Said About Returning to the Scarlet Witch?
In addition to wild speculation and a few throwaway lines of dialogue, there have been several real-world discussions about Olsen putting on her red crown once again. Olsen herself has talked about it on numerous occasions, even coming up withher own way to bring Wanda back from the dead. The actor has expressed plenty of interest in returning to the MCU, and previously said she wants to explore Wanda’s mutant connection to the X-Men.
WandaVisionandAgatha All Alongshowrunner Jac Schaeffer also added to the intrigue when grilled on the theory that Wanda’s ‘death’ inMultiverse of Madnessmerely killed off her Scarlet Witch persona, tellingTheWrap:
“I am keeping such a good poker face. What I will say is like, I really like how your mind works.”
Schaeffer reiterated thatAgatha All Alongis Kathyrn Hahn’s show, but again, remained tight-lipped on whether Wanda could have a last-minute cameo. More likely,Agatha All Alongwill end with at least a tease of Speed.
Considering Kevin Feige once dubbed Wanda Maximoff themost powerful character in the MCU, she could come in handy when taking on Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in the next twoAvengersmovies. The returns of Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Hugh Jackman have shown that even those who claim they’re done with the MCU aren’t necessarily finished forever, while Olsen has been open about the fact she wants to keep playing Wanda Maximoff.
Alongside Olsen’s rumored return for Terry Matalas’Vision Quest, there has also been plenty of buzz aboutScarlet Witch getting her own movie. At the time of writing, there’s no sign of Wanda’s return on the Phase 6 slate. Still, giving her a post-Secret Warsstandalone in the inevitable Phase 7 feels like the kind of headliner that would draw fans in. Even if releasing projects for Billy (Agatha All Along), Tommy (the rumored Speed spin-off), and Vision (Vision Quest) before getting a Scarlet Witch movie might feel like overkill, there’s also a lot going on in the MCU without the need for her to return yet.
It’s unclear how the MCU will handle the presumedintroduction of Battleworld, and whether Earth-616 Wanda will be brought back to life or an alternate version from one of the many other realities becomes the franchise’s new mainstay. Regardless, there’s a sense that this wily witch is down, but not out, when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
