In every single Marvel Studios movie we’ve seen so far, there has been a certain consistency to the hero costumes – and by that I mean that they’re all made to look as awesome as possible. Iron Man has all kinds of slick and flashy armor; Thor looks like the perfect Asgardian warrior, Captain America looks as patriotic as he does badass… the list goes on and on. However, in the upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver definitely don’t fit that mold, as their outfits are rather ratty and thrown together. This may seem like an inconsistency, but really there is actually a very good reason for this: their outfits are literally thrown together from whatever they pick up on the street.
It was while I was on the set of The Avengers 2 last summer with a small group of other journalists that I learned about the origins of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s somewhat unconventional costumes in in the new blockbuster. The subject first came up during an interview with Elizabeth Olsen, who spoke to suggest a very involved role in constructing the look of her character. In plain terms, she explained that the clothes that her character and her on-screen brother wear are a reflection of the lifestyle that they lead and what has happened to them in their lives. She said,
The way that we've designed the costumes of these characters is based off of these two kids being on their own and using whatever they can to their best ability. Like, if they see a street vendor, they just grab something off a street vendor. So it hints to Eastern Europe, but it's also this kind of kitschy vagabond feel, as well.
These same thoughts and feelings were reiterated by Aaron Taylor-Johnson during our separate interview with him - though he did add that there is a certain specificity to what we see in Quicksilver’s costuming, and there is a certain athletic bent to the choices. Said the actor,
I think some of the things I wear are more kind of sporty… long sleeves. It's like a Cycle Top and compression T-shirts and things that kind of give that kind of physique, so you can sense an idea of it.
What’s interesting about this more ratty costuming direction for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver is the fact that it actually sets up a particularly deep contrast between those characters and the rest of The Avengers. As we’ve written about before, an element of The Avengers: Age of Ultron’s story is that Tony Stark has actually fully upgraded all of the costumes and equipment of the super team – from Hawkeye’s arrow dispenser to Captain America’s outfit. Given that the start of the film introduces a good deal of animosity between The Avengers and the two powerful siblings, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this were 100% intentional.
Whether or not we will see Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver upgrade their costume either during the course of the movie or not remains a question mark, but it’s one that we anticipate getting the answer to when The Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1st.
