Here's What Wanda’s Doctor Strange 2 Ending Could Mean For The MCU

One of the most fun aspects of the multiverse is getting to see multiple variations of characters, from zombified versions in What If... to gender-flipped ones in Loki. It can also be instrumental in bringing back characters who narratively died in one movie but are still contracted to show up in later films. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness killed off several characters, but the biggest was the Scarlet Witch. But did Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) actually die in Doctor Strange 2?

Warning: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness follows. It took until Avengers: Infinity War for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to start offing its superheroes. But now that the seal has been broken, it seems like the world has become a dangerous place for the powered people. Case in point: The new Doctor Strange film, which revels in doing away with not only the longest-serving actor in the Marvel franchise, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, but also Mr. Fantastic (shredded to rubber bands), alternate Captain Marvel (squashed by a statue) and Captain Carter (bisected with her own shield).

But the one that hurt most was the death of the series’ original Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch of the 616. Devastated that all the other Wandas in the multiverse still had sons Billy and Tommy, and she didn’t, she tried to cross into another reality to play mom by using the Darkhold. But once America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) helped her see how monstrous her behavior was, she did the right thing and returned to her own universe. Determined never to allow someone else to fall prey to the temptations she did, Wanda destroyed the original Darkhold temple (which only existed in the 616), taking out every existing written copy across the multiverse for good measure.

When it collapsed, Wanda was inside the temple in what seemed like a sacrifice for the greater good. But fans aren’t sure if this means Wanda is actually dead, or if Elizabeth Olsen is done with the franchise or not. Perhaps the 616 version is gone, but what about the others, like the 838 Wanda whose body she possessed in the film?

Fans have a hard time accepting this might be it for Wanda because real-world events have suggested otherwise. In March 2022, only two months before Doctor Strange arrived in theaters, it was rumored that Olsen signed a massive contract extension with Marvel and Disney. With Olsen possibly booked through 2029, it seemed very unlikely this is the last anyone will see of the Scarlet Witch. Whether her return comes through an unlikely survival, flashbacks, the multiverse, time travel, or other means remains to be seen.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is playing in theaters now.