Let’s be honest here. If you were offered a role in a comic book movie universe, and you were told that your character would be in multiple films or potentially a long-running TV show, you’d think it was the best thing ever for you, correct? And for many, it is. These movies and series have made a LOT of stars over the years. But, there are some catches that can’t be ignored. And if you don’t believe us, you can believe Elizabeth Olsen. You know, the Scarlet Witch?
She made her debut in the MCU in 2015 via Avengers Age of Ultron. And since then, she’s appeared in Captain America Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame, the WandaVision series, and of course, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. A very rewarding set of films and series, right? But, as Olsen noted in an interview, she lost some movie roles she really wanted to do due to scheduling conflicts with the MCU, and that really hurt her:
“It took me away from the physical ability to do certain jobs that I thought were more aligned with the things I enjoyed as an audience member, and this is me being the most honest. I was in a contract [for Marvel] I could not get out of. So [The Lobster] didn’t work out. I started to feel frustrated, I had this job security but I was losing these pieces that I felt were more part of my being. And the further I got away from that, the less I became considered for it.”
Believe it or not, there is a little bit of an “MCU curse” of sorts that has gone on in that many of the main MCU actors are stars IN the MCU, but don’t have the best successes outside of it. Look at Robert Downey Jr. after Endgame, his first film post-Iron Man, Dolittle is considered one of the worst movies ever made.
Chris Hemsworth hasn’t done that well either, and as Olsen noted, she lost the chance to be part of films that could’ve done really well for her career-wise.
So as in all things, there’s a set of pros and cons to doing roles like these.
Source: New York Times
