Elizabeth Olsen Explains Wanda’s “Silly Hand Movements” In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness: They Are Part Of Her Character’s "Evolution"

After four movies and one TV series as sorceress Wanda Maximoff, Elizabeth Olsen is finally getting a hang of her character’s ‘hand movements’ when wielding her not-to-be-trifled-with psychic powers.

It wasn’t easy at first, though, says Olsen, 33, back as Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now in cinemas.

“At the beginning, I didn’t know what it would look like, so I felt very vulnerable,” she tells 8days.sg at a virtual round table Monday. “Everyone was punching and stuff, shooting fake arrows, whatever, and I am not doing that.”

Olsen worked closely with London-based dancer Jennifer White on Wanda’s movements in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In The Multiverse of Madness, Olsen’s stunt double CC Ice took over as choreographer.

But what started out as “silly hand movements” are now an extension of Wanda’s character growth, says Olsen. “[Now] they mean something — and they generate something.”

“There’s definitely an evolution to her strength and ability to harness it,” she adds. “Things that used to be hard should be incredibly easy for her as she understands her powers, so there’s an evolution in that.”

Elsewhere, when asked about the appeal of alternate realities and parallel universes, Olsen says the concept offers the Marvel Cinematic Universe “bottomless storytelling”.

She explains, “There is a lot of versions of ourselves out there [that are the] consequences of the decisions and choices we make in our lives as well as the consequences of the world we are born into.”

The multiverse challenges actors as well. “Because as you guys saw in Spider-Man [No Way Home], there could be multiple versions of character arcs, and that, for an actor, is very exciting to step into other versions of your character’s shoes,” she says. “But it makes for a boring scene to shoot when you are acting with yourself. The actual making of it is a little bit lonely.” 

Watch the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness LA premiere here: 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (PG13) is now in cinemas.

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos