Let’s dive into all the theories.
Sam Raimi’s movie ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ has found a new home on Disney+.
The horror/superhero hybrid saw Benedict Cumberbatch’s cunning wizard share the screen with Elizabeth Olsen, and after the catastrophic events of ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’, the widowed Wanda Maximoff was destined to accept her legacy as the Scarlet Witch.
Although Wanda turning mean/sad was a twist that many had foretold, it was less clear how things were going to turn out. ‘Doctor Strange 2’ galloped into an action-packed showdown on Mount Wundagore, with a Raimi-esque ending featuring zombies and capes made of souls.
Wanda’s last-minute change of heart knocked off Scarlet Witch’s fate, as it looks like the Avenger will soon be chalked on the wall of dead Marvel heroes after ‘Endgame’ alongside Iron Man and Black Widow.
It’s hard to imagine the MCU killing off Wanda just as she’s getting more interesting, so, is this really the end of the road for Mrs. Maximoff? Let’s look at the theories.
Wanda is alive
Not wanting to spoil the surprise, the Marvel sequel’s writer refuses to confirm or deny whether Wanda has kicked the bucket. Michael Waldron said his fate is “open to interpretation”which is enough for us to speculate that he’ll be donning his cape and crown again in no time.
Although it was not very clear to many people, there is a red flash that if you blink you will miss it when the temple falls. Similar to how the Phoenix Force protected Famke Janssen’s Jean Gray at the end of ‘X-Men 2,’ Wanda’s Scarlet Witch could have easily created an energy cocoon to protect her from debris.
If Wanda doesn’t get trapped under the rubble, it leads us to wonder how/when she’ll get back. If you watch ‘The Children’s Crusade,’ there is a similar story where Doctor Doom rescued an amnesiac Wanda from Wundagore, replaced her with a Doombot, and brought her back to his homeland of Latveria to be his wife.
This works in a number of ways for the likes of the Fantastic Four and the Young Avengers, along with Wanda’s children, who are the main leads. We’re probably a long way from this because the Fantastic Four were only teased in ‘Multiverse of Madness,’ but assuming the MCU wants to avoid saturating Scarlet, it would be wise to let the character rest for a while.
‘WandaVision’ established that Wanda is a “Nexus” who can alter reality, meaning that other theories suggest that it is hidden and is currently hiding in the “Nexus of All Realities”. Similar to the rift crossing that housed the Book of Vishanti, the “Nexus of All Realities” is a space in between.
As it happens, the “Nexus of All Realities” is watched over by the Man-Thing, who is one of the fan-favorite characters in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. As a final coup de grace, the “Nexus of All Realities” appeared on Erik Selvig’s Easter egg-filled blackboard in Thor: The Dark World.
A new Wanda is on the way
Just like we got around Loki and Gamora’s deaths in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, there are an infinite number of Wandas out there, and not all of them are psychotic sorceresses.
We met the Wanda of Earth-838, who was living happily with her children before our Wanda used her as a murderous puppet to take down the Illuminati in THAT big scene. Earth-838 Wanda is alive after the events of the movie, and if she comes back, she gives us another ticket to bring Billy and Tommy into the Young Avengers.
The Illuminati are dead in this reality, but remember that Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) escaped the massacre. Reed Richard’s wife and children presumably seek revenge, and though Earth-838 Wanda was innocent, it was her hands that killed.
If this Wanda wants to seek some form of absolution, she could travel down “The Witch’s Path,” which is another mythical plane of existence that can only be used by powerful sorcerers.
In James Robinson’s 2015 Scarlet Witch story, Wanda was aided by the ghost of Agatha Harkness (whom she had previously killed). While traveling on “Witch’s Road”, Wanda met Natalya Maximoff, who was revealed to be her mother, and the previous holder of the Scarlet Witch name.
Importantly, Scarlet Witch retconned much of her backstory to reveal that she was no longer a mutant, but instead had inherited her mother’s powers before experimenting to amplify them.
As well as the ties to the imminent arrival of the X-Men and a certain Master of Magnetism, the return of Earth-838 Wanda may bring the mutants to the MCU through alternate realities. We already know they exist in this universe thanks to the return of Patrick Stewart as a variant of Charles Xavier from ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’.
Wanda is really dead
The third and last (unlikely) option is that Wanda really is history. The Multiverse of Madness was as much his movie as it was Strange’s, and it could be argued that his story has come to a natural conclusion.
In the main continuity of the MCU, Wanda’s fake family has been wiped from existence, she has destroyed the Darkhold in all realities, and there is no sign of the White Vision to rekindle their relationship.
Bringing Wanda back would rob the character of her heroic ending. and, while there is room to expand his ‘House of M’, many of his cues have already been told.
It also feeds into that tired trope that aside from Bruce and Martha Wayne or Uncle Ben, no one is really dead in comics or comic book movies. Olsen has been unsurprisingly shy, and she said that while she hopes he will return, no one has told her.
Either way, there’s no official word from Marvel dispatches that she’s coming back.
The future of Wanda Maximoff
Ultimately, we are lost in a sea of rumours. The MCU seems more concerned with establishing the Young Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and the New Avengers at this point.So don’t expect Wanda to appear in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’.
Nevertheless, Upcoming ‘Agatha: House of Harkness’ Series Has Potential. Wanda left her nasty neighbor with a spell on her in Westview, so unless the show is a prequel, we need someone to free Agatha from her joyous nightmare.
Rumors of a solo ‘Scarlet Witch’ movie continue, while others claim that Olsen has signed a seven-year contract to continue playing Wanda in Marvel’s Phase 5the highest grossing franchise in history.
Stranger things have happened than the idea of Olsen being done with the MCU, but if the actress herself isn’t buying Wanda casting her latest spell, sorry Kevin Feige, neither are we.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
