Scarlet Witch Reportedly Returning to the MCU in Avengers Doomsday Reshoots

Industry insider Daniel RPK has reportedly confirmed that Scarlet Witch is back in the MCU, coming out of the ongoing pickup shoots for Avengers Doomsday. This is the biggest cameo news we have heard in a while, and it comes with a big open question attached: how and why is she back, and what is she actually doing in the film.

This matters because Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff died in the 616 timeline, and fans have been hoping for a way back for her ever since. If this report holds up, it could be the beginning of Scarlet Witch's permanent return to the franchise rather than a one-off cameo.

Daniel RPK Says Scarlet Witch Is Confirmed for the Doomsday Reshoots

As covered previously, Daniel RPK reported last week that Marvel Studios is late in the Avengers Doomsday reshoots and is using them to add a large number of cameos to the film. That report left a lot of question marks, which is part of why Jeremy Renner's Instagram story last week, posting his Hawkeye suit with the Hawkeye theme and no context, was immediately read by everyone as confirmation he is coming back for Doomsday.

Now, just a day or two after that, Daniel RPK has followed up specifically naming Scarlet Witch as part of the returning cameos. But he framed it with an open-ended question rather than a full explanation, reportedly asking something along the lines of but how and why, and what is she doing. That phrasing is doing a lot of work here, and I think it is worth sitting with rather than assuming it means a simple cameo.

Why Clint Barton's Return Is a Different Situation Than Scarlet Witch's

I think there is a real difference between Clint Barton showing up at the end of Avengers Doomsday and Scarlet Witch showing up. If the latest plot leaks are accurate about some kind of Tony Stark Iron Man protocol that Vision sets off at the last second to call in every hero to help defend Earth, Clint Barton could plausibly show up there as a straightforward last minute cameo.

Scarlet Witch is a different story. As has been stated by a lot of sources now, she is, at least for now, deceased in the 616. Unless a multiverse variant of her is showing up, I do not suspect we will see her in that kind of last minute final battle cameo the way we might expect for a character who is still alive in the main timeline. Because Clint Barton might be shooting his cameo right now for Doomsday, or gearing up for Secret Wars given how soon that film starts shooting, it is worth separating his situation from hers entirely.

Theories on How She Could Appear: Doom's Witches, Pocket Dimensions, and the Robe Colors

There have been talks of pocket dimensions that Marvel has not confirmed yet where other heroes could be showing up, and Scarlet Witch could theoretically appear there. Other rumors have started speculating she might be one of Doctor Doom's followers, one of the witches whose cloak color would coincide with the type of magic she uses, though so far we have only seen purple, green, and gold robes among that group. A red robe image that circulated online was a photoshop.

If Marvel Studios is color coding these witches by magic type, you would expect Scarlet Witch's robe to be red, the way Clea appears to be the one in purple and the Ancient One may be the one in gold. That said, Marvel could easily switch out a robe color in CGI just for a trailer, or not include robes for her at all, so the absence of red so far does not rule anything out.

It does feel plausible that being one of Doom's followers is the role best suited for her in this film, since Doctor Strange, Clea, and possibly the Ancient One are already there, and it seems like Doom has recruited every other master sorcerer or Sorcerer Supreme he can get his hands on. None of us would be shocked to see her lined up beside him if she is truly pulled in from across the multiverse. Still, it is hard for me to believe they would be adding her this late instead of already having her written into the script, unless Elizabeth Olsen initially turned down the offer and has now changed her mind.

The Elizabeth Olsen Baby Complication and the Stunt Double Rumor

Here is what is specifically pertinent about Elizabeth Olsen right now: she just had a baby, literally just had one. There is no way she is currently on set filming anything. I have already seen rumors flying around on social media claiming it is not her but her stunt double, with posts claiming the stunt double is confirmed to be working with Marvel. I think that is a lot more likely to be the actual situation for now, at least for whatever is being shot during these reshoots.

This is why the how and why question RPK raised feels important rather than incidental. If it really is a stunt double standing in for now, that points toward Scarlet Witch's actual return being tied to something bigger than a quick reshoot cameo, something that would need Olsen herself once she is available.

Why I Think This Ties Into Secret Wars and Undoing Wanda's Death

When Doctor Doom recreates Battleworld out of the remnants of the multiverse in Secret Wars, he is pulling from different timelines to build it. That could easily be the mechanism Marvel uses to bring back characters they want returned to the MCU. A report from two years ago claimed Secret Wars would look to soft reboot the franchise and specifically undo some choices that Marvel Studios leadership, including Kevin Feige, were not happy about from the Multiverse Saga, and I think killing off Scarlet Witch and removing Elizabeth Olsen from the MCU was very clearly one of those mistakes.

Olsen has said in recent interviews that she is open to the idea of coming back, and there are storylines, especially ones interwoven with the X-Men, still left to tell. I honestly think a solo Scarlet Witch film would crush it, especially with a Midnight Suns and broader supernatural corner of the MCU opening up, reportedly including a confirmed Ghost Rider and the introduction of Mephisto. I am really hoping these rumors are true and that this becomes the way to bring her back permanently, played by Olsen and not a recast.

The WandaVision Connection to Doctor Doom's Runes

We have pointed out a handful of times recently that WandaVision may have been more important than people realize, introducing the idea of a sorcerer maintaining power by encapsulating another sorcerer inside a circle of runes. We think that idea connects to the circle of runes seen around the stained glass window in the Avengers Doomsday trailers, and that Doom's runes may not just bolster his own power but dampen other sorcerers' power too, an idea directly tied to Wanda.

There is also an established history between Wanda and Doctor Doom in the comics, though we already know Doom will have Sue Storm as his wife and Franklin as his son by the time Secret Wars arrives, so that particular comic dynamic likely will not get explored here. Given all of that, I think her return is set up to be an actual storyline and arc of her own rather than a quick cameo as one of Doom's followers, and that it has to tie into Vision Quest finishing off that trilogy.

What do you think is actually going on with Scarlet Witch's return, a Doom's witch cameo, a Battleworld resurrection, or something else entirely?