Elizabeth Olsen recognizes how Marvel has culturally changed in the zeitgeist since its popularity soared — and made her a blockbuster star in the process.
The actress, who originally hails from the indie world, has played Marvel‘s Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, for a decade, including on TV’s “WandaVision.” Olsen said during NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast that she was at first “really proud” to star as a superhero. Now, though, she feels the conversation around Marvel projects has become tainted.
“When I started Marvel, I thought the movies were so, so great. I thought they were such great Greek-type scale stories that reflected politics and culture in a really lovely way,” Olsen said. “And so I felt really proud to jump into it. And then, within the last 10 years, it’s taken on this narrative of, like, it’s a hot take: whether an actor says they want to or if they would never do a Marvel movie or not.”
Olsen explained that she has since been determined to take on roles that mirror her “personal taste” alongside more Marvel-scale choices. “I think that is why, because I’ve spent so many years doing Marvel, that I feel like all the other jobs I have to do have to really reflect my personal taste,” she said, “because as much as I love being a part of this world — and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do with the character — it’s not really the art that I consume, which I’ve been very, I think, honest about… Even though I don’t seek the word validation, necessarily, I do want this kind of understanding of the bigger picture of me as a creative person in the world and what my goals are.”
Olsen most recently led the film “The Assessment” and is still trying to get Todd Solondz’s “Love Child” greenlit after funding for the indie auteur’s movie got pulled last-minute in 2024. She also appeared in Netflix’s “His Three Daughters,” an independent film directed by Azazel Jacobs, in 2024.
“I think [I have to prove] my taste in a creative way,” Olsen added. “I think I haven’t always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste and that is something I feel like I’m still trying to prove when I meet people, especially if it’s a work-type meeting.”
The “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” actress previously addressed feeling “frustrated” over her personal MCU contractural obligations when trying to balance the blockbusters with indie films. She had to exit Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Lobster” to film an “Avengers” feature. She also starred in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
“I had this job security but I was losing these pieces that I felt were more part of my being. And the further I got away from that, the less I became considered for it,” Olsen said in 2022 in a New York Times interview. “It took me away from the physical ability to do certain jobs that I thought were more aligned with the things I enjoyed as an audience member. And this is me being the most honest.”
