While there are a lot of things that Marvel fans want to see from the MCU, the return of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is near the top of the list. Many had hoped that the character would return in the recent Agatha All Along series, but that didn’t quite happen. If anything, the series left fans with more questions about the character and her fate than before but now, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is addressing what’s next — and his comments may just have fans excited. In an interview with Omelete, Feige didn’t directly reveal any specific plans for Wanda but said he’s excited to find out “when and how Scarlet Witch can return.”
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“We had Agatha All Along on Disney+ just now, and that series was great for us,” Feige said. “Since then, Many questions have remained in fans’ minds about Wanda… So, all I can say is we are excited to find out when and how Scarlet Witch can return.”
As was noted, Feige’s comments don’t really confirm anything or make any firm announcements, but they do sound optimistic that the character has a future in the MCU. To an extent, Feige’s excitement — and the “when and how” of it all — aligns with the recent revelation from Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer that how they had to be very careful and specific when it came to how they addressed Wanda’s status as alive or dead — Episode 1 saw Rio/Death (Aubrey Plaza) specifically refer to Wanda as being “gone”.
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“I think the word ‘gone’ is important,” Schaeffer said in a recent interview. “I was instructed to use the word ‘gone”.”
The word “gone” certainly has a whole different connotation than “dead”. After all, if someone is simply gone, they could in theory return. It all goes back to, as Feige said when and how. Agatha All Along certainly did some table setting. Billy is back, having been given a new life as William Kaplan and Tommy is now out there, somewhere as well. While Billy was clear in the series that Wanda isn’t his “mother” in the sense that William Kaplan’s mother is his mom, as Billy goes out into the world even with Agatha as his guide and when they locate Tommy, he may also want to locate Wanda as well given how similar their powers are. It’s also possible that Billy and Tommy’s return could be a reason for Wanda’s return as well as finding her children was such an integral part of her story in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where she seemingly met her demise.
Even if Agatha All Along and Billy’s story doesn’t directly lead into the return of Scarlet Witch, there is another WandaVision spinoff in the works as well, the Vision series. That series could also pave the way for Wanda’s return depending on what story the series tells and even going beyond characters very directly tied to Wanda like her children and Vision, a third Doctor Strange film could also prove to be an avenue to explore her return. After all, while Wanda was an antagonist in Doctor Strange 2, by the end of it she had come around to seeing the error of her ways — which is how she got to bringing Mount Wundagore down on herself and destroying all copies of the Darkhold in the process.
That said, timing could be a much greater consideration than the “how” of things. The MCU’s upcoming theatrical slate seems to all be working towards Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars with Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* both coming out next year (The Fantastic Four: First Steps is also in the mix, but we know less about that film than we do the two others mentioned.) With a second season of Agatha All Along not announced, the focus for now could be less on the mystical and magical side of Marvel, at least for Phase Six. Ultimately, however Marvel ends up addressing the enduring question of Wanda’s fate in the overall MCU, fans are eager for answers and at least now, Feige has offered a glimmer of hope.
Both WandaVision and Agatha All Along are streaming on Disney+.