A lot can be said about Wanda Maximoff, who is played by Elizabeth Olsen. In her first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) appearance, she worked with the bad Ultron and against the Avengers, but then she had a change of heart and switched sides. After that, she joined a team of superheroes and fell in love with Vision, an android. They kept dating until Thanos came along and killed Vision on his way to find the Infinity Stones. Then WandaVision came along.
WandaVision was Marvel Studios’ first attempt at making a TV show. In it, Wanda seemed to live a perfect suburban life with Vision and their two sons, but it was all a lie. Maximoff was pulled away from her dream just as she realized how powerful she could be as the Scarlet Witch, a very skilled magic user. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she then gave Dr. Stephen Strange a lot of trouble.
Wanda has worn a few different outfits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness, she wore outfits that were very superhero-like and outfits that might have fit her style a little better.
Now, we know exactly how the Scarlet Witch’s outfit changed over time.
Wanda Maximoff’s MCU costume is changing into the Doctor Strange 2 Scarlet Witch concept art 001.
Andy Park, who is in charge of visual development at Marvel Studios, talked about how the Scarlet Witch’s costume changed between WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Marvel’s official YouTube channel:
“Her design was just going to be the WandaVision costume until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They didn’t decide to add sleeves to cover that up until much later. Then they had to decide how much texture to add and other things like that. Graham Churchyard, who was in charge of the costumes, did a great job with it in the end. I really liked how he added the sleeves, but now it looks like it’s getting messed up. The texture he put on the WandaVision suit’s chest looks like a crack. It almost looks like it’s like a broken heart. It really worked to change her story from the hero she became in the last episode of WandaVision to a dark, corrupted version of that hero outfit, making her more of a villain. Everything fit into her story.”
Park also talked about how the character’s look has changed over the course of her MCU appearances. The artist said that he hopes fans “can take those looks and just kind of see how far she’s gone.”
“When I first started working on Wanda, her look was probably around 2013 or 2014, but I didn’t know. I’m not sure if they even knew where she was going to end up. I think that being a part of that journey is always such a rewarding experience. We’re telling her story, and I’m a part of it, even though my part is more about showing what happened. People love reading about these characters, but they love seeing them even more. And that’s why so many cosplayers dress up as these characters to show how much they like them. I hope that when people look at Wanda and her journey, they can kind of see how far she’s come. Her story is hard to figure out. Her life story is sad. But what makes it so powerful is that story and that whole journey. And, you know, I hope her pictures show that.”
Here’s a piece of art that looks like it was made earlier for Wanda:
What’s the meaning of the Scarlet Witch’s costume?
Andy Park said that Wanda’s outfit had been changed between her last two appearances on-screen. The long sleeves were added to show that this wasn’t the same Wanda and that the Darkhold had changed her.
In Doctor Strange 2, Wanda’s body was given a kind of cracked look, with the cracks coming out of her heart. This was meant to show how broken her heart was after losing Vision and her children.
The way this is done is subtle, but the point is clear as day. Costumes can tell a story just as well as dialogue or setting. And when all the parts of making a movie work together, each part ends up making the next one better.
At the moment, we don’t know where Wanda Maximoiff will show up next or if she made it through Multiverse of Madness. But with someone as strong as her, it’s probably safe to say that she won’t be gone for long.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a movie from Marvel Studios, is now available to watch on Disney+.
