According to my sources, Saoirse Ronan has passed on the role of Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, in The Avengers: Age of Ultron despite being, at some point or another, Joss Whedon‘s top pick for the role.
Unfazed, however, Whedon and Marvel then moved their attentions on to Elizabeth Olsen.
I always feel awkward reporting on these “second choice” moments, but then I remember how Harrison Ford probably hasn’t ever woken up in a cold sweat from a Tom Selleck nightmare and I feel a bit better about it.
Olsen is a great choice, I think, because she’s a pretty good choice for anything. The girl can act, she’s got charisma and she’s smart.
Now, the concept of Wanda that Whedon is playing with can’t incorporate the part of her comic book history where – surprise! – Magneto was revealed to be her father. He’s got everything else to play with, however, not to mention whatever he can invent himself.
As I understand it, Olsen would need to adopt a “European” accent for the role, but that’s not such a big deal. Tougher will be standing her ground amidst an established cast of top-drawer actors and crowd pleasers that everybody in the audience already loves from the first Avengers film, not to mention their own pictures.
But then, she’s pretty darn likeable, and it’s reputedly a real scene-stealer of a part, so…
In short, I think it’s coming up roses for the Scarlet Witch. Now let’s see if Olsen ends up officially signed on…
Production on The Avengers: Age of Ultron should kick off in the first few weeks of 2014. We’ll next be seeing Olsen in Kill Your Darlings – for a few scenes anyway – Oldboy, Therese, and Godzilla.
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