Doctor Strange 2 Writer Defends Wanda Maximoff's Villainous Turn in the Film

As those who have seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already know, Wanda Maximoff became a full-on villain in the film as she was corrupted by the Darkhold in her desperate search for her "kids" from WandaVision in the other universes. So why did they ultimately decide to make her the main villain of the film?

Speaking with Variety, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron was asked about their decision on turning Wanda Maximoff into the film's main villain to which he revealed that they made a decision on it early on when he and director Sam Raimi were hired to take over the film back in early 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

"Sam and I came on in February of 2020. And initially, we were inheriting what the prior administration had been doing. And then COVID happened and our start date pushed six months," he said. "So he and I had the opportunity to essentially start over and say, 'What do we want this movie to be?' And the foundational building block of starting over was Wanda should be the villain the whole way through. This should be a story of Doctor Strange protecting America Chavez from Wanda. So it was there from the very beginning, really, in what is the ultimate version."

However, Waldron also shared that there was also a version in which Wanda only became a villain during the later part of the film. However, they decided to make her the villain all throughout, especially after what was set up in WandaVision which easily paved the way for her to go on that path.

"Well, there was the version where she was more of — and I even did an earlier draft where she was more a member of the ensemble and turned bad by the end," he revealed. "And it always felt to me like it was just hedging. There was never a way to service her fall from grace properly as a supporting character in the movie because there had to be a separate antagonist. And it also felt like we were leaving the biggest bit of fun on the table for somebody else."

He continued, "And, truth be told, having watched and experienced and studied WandaVision, I felt like she was at the point, in possession of the Darkhold, where she was ready to break bad. She had reached that point that she reaches in comics, and that we could believably pull it off."

Understandably so, there are fans who weren't pleased with Wanda Maximoff's villainous turn. Whether you agree with the decision or not, at least we can say that they were able to set it up instead of just rushing her villainous turn. WandaVision certainly helped in her development and it paid off big time in the film. It would be interesting to see what direction will the character take next in the future of the MCU.

Also Read: Elizabeth Olsen Explains Vision's Absence in Doctor Strange 2

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing in theaters everywhere.