Deadpool & Wolverine"s Scarlet Witch Reference Explained & Why It"s Not The Insult I Thought It Was

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Deadpool & Wolverine featured the Scarlet Witch among its many Marvel cameos (kind of), but I"m glad to learn that the reference was not the insult I thought it was. Scarlet Witch did not cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine in person, but the movie did feature her effigy from the Darkhold Castle in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I was initially put off by Deadpool & Wolverine"s Scarlet Witch reference as it seemed to serve as a reminder of a particularly hard pill for me to swallow: that Wanda Maximoff really is, most sincerely dead.
Still, this notion was thrown into question just a few months later with the release of Agatha All Along on Disney+. Clues like Agatha"s response of "Yes, no, maybe," to the question of whether Wanda is really dead has helped restore my hopes that she will return down the line in the MCU. Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine has now further assuaged my concerns following its release on Disney+, as the reasons for including Scarlet Witch"s giant Darkhold Castle sculpture were fully explained.
Why The Scarlet Witch Sculpt Was Included In Deadpool & Wolverine Assembled: The Making Of Deadpool & Wolverine Fully Explains Why Wanda's Darkhold Castle Effigy Was Included Close Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine features interviews with several prominent contributors to the movie. One of these was production designer, Raymond Chan, who has worked on several MCU projects, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. When talking about the hideout of the resistance members in Deadpool & Wolverine, Chan explained his reasoning for including Mount Wundagore"s Scarlet Witch effigy, stating:

"So the brief from Shawn [Levy, director] and Wendy [Jacobson, executive producer] was "We"d like to put in some Easter eggs for our fans." One particular set caught my eye, a 24-foot high sculpt of Wanda, which was used in Doctor Strange 2. And it was used in a temple, and the temple was about 32 feet high, and I thought, "Well, I will take that sculpt and lay it into the ceiling." So it became the ceiling of the hideout."

Wanda"s sculpt is certainly a striking centerpiece, and one of the more consequential set pieces in the MCU given its association with the prophecy that Scarlet Witch could either destroy or rule the cosmos. Other Deadpool & Wolverine Easter eggs featured in the same scene include Hulk"s bed from Thor: Ragnarok, which is fashioned out of the skull of some hulking alien creature, and Captain Marvel"s table from her ship. It stands to reason that the void would be the place to feature such a hodgepodge of items - but they also help to placate my previous concerns.
Deadpool & Wolverine's Scarlet Witch Reference Actually Honor Wanda Scarlet Witch's Effigy Appears Alongside Props Associated With Other Beloved Marvel Heroes Close Raymond Chan"s instructions to include nondescript Easter eggs in the hideout suggest that there was never really a deeper meaning to the appearance of Wanda"s statue. In fact, to have this effigy feature alongside - and even tower above - several other objects associated with such beloved Marvel characters as Hulk and Captain Marvel is a touching tribute to Wanda. This is in addition to the myriad characters of yesteryear that make appearances, including the resistance members themselves.

Related Is Scarlet Witch Really Dead? & 8 Other Burning Questions From Agatha All Along Following in the footsteps of its predecessor WandaVision, the new Marvel series Agatha All Along poses a number of important questions and mysteries.
I"d even go one step further and suggest that making Wanda"s statue the centerpiece of a distinctly heroic setting, which contains the items belonging to superheroes and the heroes that inhabit the hideout, helps detach Wanda from her villainous turn in her last cinematic outing. It even helps to keep Wanda at the forefront of the audience"s minds, perhaps suggesting her story is not over yet. Combined with Agatha All Along persistently questioning the fate of Wanda Maximoff, I"m now feeling more confident than ever about her MCU return.
I Still Hope Scarlet Witch Returns To The MCU After Deadpool & Wolverine Recent Comments From Kevin Feige Seem To Confirm That Scarlet Witch Is Going To Return To The MCU Close Deadpool & Wolverine"s Scarlet Witch reference was followed by several in Agatha All Along that cast significant doubt on the permanence of her death. Her body was featured in the first episode, where Rio Vidal - who was later revealed to be Death personified - assured Agatha that Wanda was "Gone." The fact that Death did not use "Dead" to describe her fate is conspicuous. Kevin Feige himself, meanwhile, gave credence to the notion that Wanda would return with recent comments made to Omelete, stating:

We had Agatha All Along on Disney+ just now, and that series was great for us. Since then, many questions have remained in fans" minds about Wanda... So, all I can say is we are excited to find out when and how Scarlet Witch can return.

I think this comment speaks for itself - namely, that it"s not a matter of "if" Scarlet Witch will return, but "when." The "how," on the other hand, suggests that Wanda"s MCU return hasn"t always been in the pipeline - though Feige could be being intentionally vague. Regardless of whether it was always planned or not, however, the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine did not solidify Wanda"s death with its inclusion of the Darkhold Castle statue is a win in my eyes, and I"m now looking forward to learning when she will reappear to fully redeem herself.

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8/10 175 9.1/10 Deadpool & Wolverine R A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
Director Shawn Levy Release Date July 26, 2024 Studio(s) Marvel , Maximum Effort Cast Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney Runtime 127 Minutes Expand Upcoming MCU Movies