Elizabeth Olsen Had No Idea What The MCU Multiverse Was Until Filming Doctor Strange

[ShadeShadow]

Elizabeth Olsen didn't know about Marvel Studios' plans for the multiverse until she began working on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Shortly after she wrapped additional work on WandaVision, the actress moved to London for the Benedict Cumberbatch sequel. Directed by Sam Raimi, Wanda's transition to the big screen from her recently-finished TV project is expected to be seamless despite the lack of any blatant setup from the Disney+ show.

Marvel Studios has been dabbling with the idea of the multiverse since the middle of Phase 3 with Doctor Strange briefly tackling the concept. Spider-Man: Far From Home used the concept as a red herring, with Quentin Beck/Mysterio claiming he's a hero from another universe to earn the trust of Peter Parker. Despite that, the MCU is set to properly take on the idea in Phase 4 as explicitly suggested by the Doctor Strange 2 title. While there were expectations that the franchise would utilize WandaVision to lay the foundations for it, especially after Evan Peters' fake Pietro's arrival in Westview, that ultimately wasn't the case.

On the heels of WandaVision's finale, Olsen now admits to Variety that she was unaware that Marvel Studios is building the multiverse while working on WandaVision; she thought that Peters' Pietro was just a nifty way to bring in Quicksilver. But, now that she has spent some time working in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she has a better understanding of what's going on. Olsen said:
 

"I didn’t know about the multiverse when we were filming this. So I wouldn’t assume that that’s what was happening. I thought it was just a clever way to have a Pietro. I didn’t understand the larger plan of the multiverse until I started working on “Multiverse,” or whatever our movie’s called, the “Doctor Strange” sequel."

Marvel Studios is notoriously secretive about their plans, not even sharing the bigger picture with their actors. They famously gave out fake and/or incomplete scripts for Avengers: Infinity War to ensure that its tragic ending wouldn't get spoiled. Given this, it makes sense that Olsen wasn't fully aware of their grand plan for Phase 4 and beyond. This is especially true considering that the show didn't seem to have a massive part with that — at least not yet. Instead, the show remained character-driven, focusing on Wanda's grief instead of being a lynchpin to the MCU's multiverse. This was understandably frustrating for some as WandaVision was peppered with red herrings, but it's important to remember that as the first project for the MCU Phase 4, Marvel Studios still has plenty of time to deliver on some of those promises.

In any case, it appears as if Marvel Studios will finally deliver on the MCU multiverse on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; while the film is still quite a long way from its premiere, it seems like they're really diving into the concept with Olsen starting to see the full picture for it. Before the sequel, the concept of the multiverse is also expected to play in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is confirmed to have narrative connections to the Raimi project. It's unclear if either Doctor Strange or Wanda will appear in the threequel, but as with Marvel Studios' track record, it's best to be patient with their storytelling as they thrive in playing the long game.