Elizabeth Olsen Will Not Be In Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars

Before Elizabeth Olsen became the apple of Marvel Studios’ eye, she announced herself to the industry with a powerhouse performance in Sean Durkin’s critically acclaimed indie, Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011).

In 2014, Olsen was then recruited by two major franchises, the MonsterVerse via Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and the Marvel Cinematic Universe via the Russo brothers’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The latter franchise, in particular, has since consumed most of her time and energy, racking up six movies and three Disney+ series as Wanda/Scarlet Witch, including the Emmy-winning WandaVision (2021) and the animated What If…? and 2025’s Marvel Zombies. However, she still managed to squeeze in some lauded independents, such as Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River (2017) and Ingrid Goes West (2017).

Now that Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) has seemingly put live-action Wanda on ice for the time being, Olsen has returned to independent film, beginning with 2023’s His Three Daughters and Fleur Fortuné’s well-received sci-fi drama, The Assessment, which is currently in theaters. These latest commitments represent a newfound perspective for Olsen.

“I didn’t realize this until about six years ago, but because Marvel and its influence takes up so much physical time and space in the world, it’s really important for me to make choices outside of Marvel that reflect my own taste,” Olsen tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Your taste does create the artist that you are, and that wasn’t something I was thinking about when I first started working. So the opportunity to return to films like [The Assessment] is a reflection of the people I want to work with and my own personal taste.”

The Assessment is set in a futuristic world where dwindling resources have turned childbirth and childrearing into a privilege for a select few. Consequently, Olsen’s Mia and Himesh Patel’s Aaryan undergo a 7-day assessment by Alicia Vikander’s gatekeeper character, Virginia, to determine whether the husband and wife are suited for parenthood. As a result, Virginia goes full method and commits to the role of a child-like character, pushing Mia and Aaryan’s buttons in every way imaginable.

“I was intrigued by it in the same way I was intrigued by reading The Lobster,” Olsen says, referencing the Yorgos Lanthimos movie she was tied to before Avengers: Age of Ultron had other plans. “It can be unsettling, but I found The Assessment to be enough fun and games and absurd humor that I just wanted to know where it was going to go.”

As for the future of her fan-favorite Marvel character, Olsen confirms that she’s not going to be a part of the Russo brothers’ two upcoming Avengers movies, Doomsday and Secret Wars. The back-to-back productions are gearing up to shoot in London soon, and Olsen just returned to the U.S. after wrapping Sam Esmail’s Panic Carefully in London. “I’m moving on to filming a pilot for FX [called Seven Sisters],” Olsen adds.

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Olsen also discusses why she was unfazed by Vikander’s child-like performance, before explaining why now is the right time to reunite with Martha director, Durkin, on FX’s Seven Sisters pilot.

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I talked with Alicia Vikander about The Assessment having a little Ex Machina in it, but then I realized there’s also some Martha Marcy May Marlene. Both stories center on a wildcard character who is taken in by a couple that’s trying to have a baby, and things quickly go awry. Did you ever compare the Mia character to Sarah Paulson’s character in Martha?

(Laughs.) No, never! I didn’t draw that comparison at all. I haven’t seen that movie in such a long time, so you saying that is very funny to me. This is the first time I’ve reflected on that.

When I was 10 or 11, I basically asked my mom why there’s a test to acquire a driver’s license, but not one to become a parent. 

What an astute young boy.

Well, it was actually a sad story because it was prompted by a classmate who everybody knew had a rough homelife. So this movie answers my grade-school self’s question by showing how disturbing that process would likely be. Were you rather unsettled by the Assessment script during your first read?

I was intrigued by it in the same way I was intrigued by reading The Lobster. [Writer’s Note: Olsen was originally tied to the Yorgos Lanthimos film until Avengers: Age of Ultron upended those plans.] It can be unsettling, but I found The Assessment to be enough fun and games and absurd humor that I just wanted to know where it was going to go. I love films that have their own rules that the characters have to play by, so I was excited by it.

In general, the beautiful thing about sci-fi is that it’s separated from our world just enough. It allows us to not have to obsessively compare ourselves: “Oh, that’s not what our president looks like,” or, “That isn’t what the FBI actually does.” We get to just theorize and reflect upon really large questions in our existence. And The Assessment is such a brilliant way to inspire those kinds of thoughts and questions, but within this very intimate setting that’s almost like a chamber piece. So that was what I loved about it instead of feeling disturbed by it.