With the fanfare over Spider-Man: Brand New Day officially winding down, MCU fans have their sights set on three movies in particular: Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars, and X-Men. Yes, there are other films that have the fanbase excited, including Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider, and the possibility of myriad sequels, including the long-awaited Shang-Chi 2, which still doesn’t have a release date or, seemingly, much progress being made. Yet, the three upcoming movies that seem the most franchise-defining in terms of the future are almost indisputably Doomsday, Secret Wars, and X-Men. This also makes Doomsday especially important, as that movie is seemingly the project upon which the success of the next two may depend—X-Men perhaps less so than Secret Wars, although that remains to be seen.
There are, therefore, various aspects of Doomsday that audiences are hoping to see to cement the movie as a success. Among them are the explanation for Chris Evans’ return as Steve Rogers, which is a question many fans have and are somewhat wary about. There is a possibility that this return will mean disrupting Steve’s Avengers: Endgame ending, which would likely prove unpopular especially if it’s a change even further forced by Avengers: Endgame Encore. Similarly, MCU fans definitely want a clear rationale for bringing Robert Downey Jr. back as Doctor Doom, despite Joe Russo’s comments suggesting there are “zero similarities” between Doom and Tony Stark. There are, of course, myriad other fan hopes for Doomsday, but one of the most pressing is the potential return of a character that audiences have wanted to see on the screen again for four years—and now, reports suggest it’s happening.
Since her apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, MCU fans have been demanding Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch’s return. Part of this is simply by nature of her popularity within the fanbase, which certainly extends to actress Elizabeth Olsen as well. However, there are other reasons audiences want her back, including the fact that she is among the most powerful MCU characters and, especially in light of Agatha All Along and VisionQuest, both of which prove that her children are still alive in her universe (or will prove for Tommy, based on the VisionQuest trailer), her story feels incomplete. This has led to myriad rumors and theories over the years, but now, one new report suggests she may actually be returning in Doomsday.
Specifically, insider Daniel Richtman has shared that Elizabeth Olsen will reportedly return in Doomsday as Wanda following (also reported) reshoots for the movie. There is little to no information beyond that, and that of course has not been confirmed or officially announced by Olsen, Marvel, Disney, or the like. Nevertheless, this does feed into the larger belief that Wanda will almost certainly have some sort of appearance in the movie, even if it’s just a brief plot twist cameo towards the end or even a post-credits scene, especially because she and Doctor Doom have an arc in the comics that would theoretically be a fit for the movie—one in which, notably, her reincarnated teenage sons Tommy and Billy find her with no memories and engaged to Doom.
For now, it remains to be seen whether the MCU will share anything with that comic book arc and/or whether Wanda will be in Doomsday, but this is a promising update.
