Part of being a superhero is constantly risking your life every step of the way, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has perfectly conveyed this idea through the years. Granted, the stakes might not have been insanely high during the first batch of projects, but by the time we were approaching the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War, there was a lingering sense that nobody was safe. In a way, that notion became a reality with that very movie.
Iron Man, Natasha Romanoff, the original version of Gamora, Maria Hill, and many more have bitten the dust. Their stories are, for the time being, completely over. However, that doesn't mean that every single character who has died will remain dead in the foreseeable future.
Thanks to the magic of the multiverse and the approaching release of Avengers: Doomsday, there's now a lingering sense that anybody could make a comeback when we least expect it. Case in point: a beloved Marvel veteran might soon return to the big screen, as revealed by a member of the Marvel family.
WandaVision and Fantastic Four: First Steps director says Wanda isn't gone
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a very polarizing movie due to the way it handled Scarlet Witch's character. She started as a full-on villain in the MCU during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, had a change of heart by the end of that movie, was a part of Earth's Mightiest Heroes for a very long time, had a fantastic Disney+ show... and then the search for her sons led her to decimate countless innocents without mercy. To top things off, Wanda sacrificed herself in Stephen Strange's latest adventure in order to destroy Chthon's tomb and the last-ever "copy" of the Darkhold.
There's a case to be made that audiences never really believed Wanda was truly dead in the first place. But, even then, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hinted that there's more to her story by stating that he was eager to "find out when and how Scarlet Witch can come back". But in case there was still a bit of doubt lingering in your mind, then WandaVision and The Fantastic Four: First Steps director, Matt Shakman, indirectly confirmed that there's more to the hero's story to come.
During an interview with Screen Rant, Matt was asked if he believes the Scarlet Witch is really gone, to which he replied: "Wanda's never gone". Now, it's just a matter of discovering why she's been out of the picture for so long, and how she could make a return. Elizabeth Olsen even pitched to Marvel how her ideal comeback to the role would be. In it, audiences would see the character 50 years older with long white hair and "a gnarly face of wrinkles". While this might give us an idea of what we'll see in the MCU, there is also another likely possibility.
In comic book pages, the Scarlet Witch disappeared after changing the entire Marvel Universe by saying three simple words: "No more Mutants". Nobody knew about her whereabouts for a long time after that, and it wasn't until her son, Billy Maximoff, looked into the situation that he discovered a shocking truth: his mom was hiding in Latveria and about to marry Doctor Doom.
There's a chance that a similar scenario will happen on the big screen. After all, WandaVision hinted that everybody's favorite witch is a Nexus being — a plot point that could have huge ramifications by the time the multiverse starts to collapse, and Doctor Doom tries to remake it in his image. Perhaps the reason we haven't seen Wanda after all this time is because she's in a different universe with the MCU's next big bad.
Wherever the Scarlet Witch is, it seems her story is really far from over. On the bright side, Avengers: Doomsday is looking more and more like the ideal place to witness her return, and we can't wait for that day to come.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on Dec. 18, 2026.