Elizabeth Olsen reveals length of her original contract with Marvel Studios

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

When you hear about actors signing on for big tentpole franchises, most of them are locked into a multi-picture deal. The typical Marvel Studios contract can be anywhere between four-nine movies which is a pretty big chunk of your life to sign away, especially when you desire to work on other projects. Due to the breakout success of WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen has gotten to expand on the character of Wanda Maximoff as she becomes the "Scarlet Witch" that we are familiar with in the comics but the first deal Olsen signed with Marvel Studios was pretty short compared to her counterparts and it most certainly didn't guarantee multiple returns.

During a chat with "The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter Podcast", Olsen went into detail as to how short her first contract was. We were first introduced to Olsen and the character of Wanda Maximoff in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and Olsen says when she landed the part "I signed on for two movies and a cameo. I've gone through three rounds of contracts with Marvel already. I just do, like, appetizers or something, they never have me over for the big meal." Olsen then goes on to reveal she had no clue that they would touch on some of the stuff they did with WandaVision:

"People sign six-movie, nine-movie deals. That’s a lot! And they didn’t really know how much further it was gonna go. We never knew if we were even gonna touch half the stuff we did in WandaVision."

Olsen seems pleased with her more prominent role in the MCU but not completely signing her time away, at least in the beginning, seemed to benefit the actress and her desire to be available for other work. Olsen does acknowledge that not completely knowing when Marvel would need her has led to some scheduling conflicts but she does like that they use her when it's necessary for the story:

"It really has benefited me because they only continue to use me, not cause they have to, but because they think there’s a story that can be used. And so I’ve always felt even though I’ve had my own scheduling that has broken my heart in certain moments – I have always felt like they had a plan for me, and never really let me in on what that plan was, but I knew that they would only use me if it was useful."

Elizabeth Olsen will continue to have the best of both worlds as she has already shot her next appearance as Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which could set up the next phase for her character, and she gets to expand on more non-MCU roles as she's tapped to lead an HBO Max limited series from David E. Kelley. Olsen's talent definitely shouldn't be tied down to one project but Marvel is definitely lucky to have her whenever they can use her.

Do YOU think Elizabeth Olsen will be featured more in the MCU after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?