Anything can happen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the run-up to Avengers: Doomsday and nobody is more aware of that than the powers-that-be at Marvel Studios. The upcoming film is set to act as the opening chapter of the Multiverse Saga's conclusion, setting the stage for the grand finale in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel has been making sure that recent titles have been either fantastic or bonkers (or sometimes both) as we prepare for the larger-than-life multiversal showdown next year.
From the critically-acclaimed pair of recent MCU outings Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps to the wide-ranging fun of the recent Disney Plus shows (that involved the witchy wonder of Agatha All Along and the return of the grittier Netflix heroes in Daredevil: Born Again), the studio is ramping up its success stories by throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
That couldn't be more clear than the franchise's next title - one that will be out of this world (and the MCU's world too, it seems). It will also involve one of the MCU's most popular stars returning to reprise her role - something fans have waited to see for a long time.
The Scarlet Witch makes her first MCU appearance in years in Marvel Zombies
Marvel Studios has unveiled the first look at the MCU's next project. The first trailer for upcoming animated series Marvel Zombies was released earlier this week and, well, to say that it's going to be a very different type of MCU adventure is a major understatement. It also features the first look at the zombified Scarlet Witch, who will serve as the miniseries' main villain. And yes, Elizabeth Olsen is reprising her role.
See her return for yourself in the trailer:
Marvel Zombies is based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name by Robert Kirkman and it reimagines what the Marvel Universe would look like if it found itself in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, with its saviors - the Avengers - having turned into the undead creatures too. The Disney Plus series uses the MCU versions of the characters, with some of the franchise regulars voicing them here too (hence Olsen's return as Scarlet Witch), and it's a spinoff of previous Marvel Animation show What If...?, which actually featured an episode that adapted the Marvel Zombies story as well. This version, however, will be a lot truer to the source material, with a TV-MA rating allowing for scenes of a very graphic nature.
According to reports, Olsen's Wanda Maximoff will be the primary villain of the series, using the army of the undead for her own means. Known as the Dead Queen, her nightmarish force will be unstoppable and it will also be commanded by Okoye, who will act as Wanda's second in command. We are indeed given a glimpse of Wanda's appearance in the trailer.
Just like the What If...? episode, her suit is modelled after Wanda's first suit design (with variations previously worn by Elizabeth Olsen in films such as Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War) - before she became the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision. She takes center stage in the official artwork for the series, which can be viewed below:
It goes without saying that fans are excited at the prospect of seeing Elizabeth Olsen bring a variation of Wanda Maximoff to life... even if it's not our Wanda. It also suggests that the "Dead Queen" won't be a woman of few words either.
The main variant of Wanda is also expected to return in the MCU movies at some point
As for the original Wanda Maximoff, it sounds like we aren't too far away from seeing her return either. Her most recent appearance came in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, when she went down a dark path, killing many people in her attempt to steal America Chavez's powers and go to another world where her boys, Tommy and Billy, were alive. However, in the end she seemingly sacrificed herself, bringing down Mount Wundagore on herself and dying - or so we were led to believe. And yet, the rumors of a return have never stopped.
A number of reports have claimed that the Scarlet Witch will make her live-action return in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Although Marvel Studios itself has yet to officially acknowledge the possibility of a Wanda comeback, the studio's own president Kevin Feige seemingly alluded to the fact that she will return in the future in an interview last year. And, what's more, WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along made the character's fate even more ambiguous when Agatha Harkness changed her answer regarding whether Wanda was dead or not from "yes" to "no" to "maybe".
Given that Wanda's son Billy has now surfaced in the MCU (played by Joe Locke in Agatha) and his twin brother Tommy (who is expected to debut in Vision Quest) is set to join him in the future, there is clearly a story waiting for Wanda when she returns. It simply wouldn't make sense for the character to die before she was reunited with her boys and, with the Multiverse in dire need of saving due to Doctor Doom's inevitable arrival, the heroes of the MCU will need a warrior as powerful as the Scarlet Witch on their side.
Taking all of that into account, Elizabeth Olsen's return as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Zombies is definitely a welcome comeback, but it's hopefully only the first sign of a more long-term return to the MCU. We'll have to wait and see. But, for now, let's just enjoy seeing this new, zombified Scarlet Witch run roughshod over this alternate reality.
Marvel Zombies arrives on Disney Plus on September 24.