WandaVision Explores Real Origins Of Scarlet Witch’s Powers

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WandaVision will explore Scarlet Witch's powers and that includes its real origins. Marvel Studios is set to kick off MCU's Phase 4 in January, which wasn't the original plan. But, primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany-led show will now kick off the new chapter in the franchise's storytelling, and considering what's been revealed about it thus far, fans couldn't be more excited.

Reuniting star-crossed lovers Wanda and Vision after the latter's death in Avengers: Infinity War, WandaVision mines storytelling inspiration from classic sitcoms from past decades. The show is bringing back a string of MCU characters like Kat Dennings' Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris' grown-up Monica Rambeau, and Randall Park's Agent Jimmy Woo, but it will also debut as Kathryn Hahn in a yet-to-be-disclosed role. As its release on Disney+ on January 15, 2021 nears, marketing for the project is in full swing with various outlets covering the series.

As part of its feature on WandaVision, Empire spoke with Feige who teased what can be expected from the show. Apart from the unique premise, the MCU architect zeroed in on the series exploring Wanda's powers, including where it really came from.
 

 

“If you look at the Infinity Saga, I don’t think any single person has gone through more pain and trauma than Wanda Maximoff. And no character seems to be as powerful as Wanda Maximoff. And no character has a power-set that is as ill-defined and unexplored as Wanda Maximoff. So it seemed exploring that would be worthwhile post-Endgame. Who else is aware of that power? Where did it come from? Did the Mind Stone unlock it?”

When the project was announced at 2019's San Diego Comic-Con, Olsen already promised that the show will tackle her character's powers, adding that WandaVision will finally reveal why she's called Scarlet Witch. Interestingly, Feige admits in the new interview that Marvel Studios has done a bad job putting focus on Wanda; the character was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but instead of being the prominent key player that she is in the comic books, she's typically relegated to being a supporting character. It's also true that her powers are poorly-defined in the MCU that it's difficult to pinpoint what exactly she can do. Based on the marketing for WandaVision, however, her ability to bend reality might be at play in the narrative.

Additionally, Feige also floated the idea that the Mind Stone may not be the real source of Wanda's powers; instead, it merely unlocked something that she already has. This checks out with what's been revealed in the book The Wakanda Files which hints that the Maximoff twins' powers are genetic, effectively making them mutants. Assuming that this is the case, Marvel Studios can utilize WandaVision as the entry point for the X-Men which Feige and his team now have creative control over.