Back when 20th Century Fox and Disney were still separate entities, there was a few Marvel characters that both movie studios were able to use in their respective superhero franchises, albeit with some stipulations. This included Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, although in Disney’s case, their versions of the characters could not be mutants since Fox owned the film rights to the X-Men. Of course, that’s no longer an issue since the Mouse House acquired Fox, and it seems like steps are now being taken to tie the MCU’s Scarlet Witch closer to the X-Men mythos.
In case you need a refresher on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s MCU backstory, they hailed from Sokovia and volunteered to be experimented upon by HYDRA, with them specifically being exposed to energy from the Mind Stone. All the other test subjects who went through this process died, and for the brother/sister duo, the result was Wanda Maximoff gaining various psionic powers and Pietro Maximoff being gifted with super speed.
However, a new book called The Wakanda Files (via ScreenRant) indicates that there may be more to the story. The book is a compilation of Shuri’s notes on the world of the Avengers, including files she’s collected on Scarlet Witch, some of which came from HYDRA. These records claim that the main reason HYDRA set up shop in Sokovia was because they noticed some genetic anomalies among some of its citizens, thus making them the perfect subjects to these Mind Stone experiments.
The Wakanda Files also notes how Wanda and Pietro’s bodies have ionized nervous systems, so rather than the Mind Stone bequeathing these two powers from scratch, it’s more like it awakened something within them. In Scarlet Witch’s case, “neural electric interfacing” allows her to create and manipulate energy, use telekinesis and see into people’s minds to plan “suggestive thoughts.” That already makes her a powerhouse right off the bat, but the scientists who studied her believed she was only just starting to tap into her true potential.
To summarize, until now Scarlet Witch under the general “enhanced” label, but now it seems like both her and her deceased brother are being retconned as mutants. Needless to say this has huge implications for the MCU. We’ve officially known since the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con that the X-Men will be introduced to the MCU, although it could be years until that happens. Fortunately, if Scarlet Witch is indeed now being classified as a mutant in the MCU, this means there are likely other mutants out there who are waiting for their potential to be unlocked.
Scarlet Witch will next appear in the Disney+ series WandaVision, which sees the character twisting reality so her android lover is alive again and they’re living their ideal life through the lens of various sitcom eras. It’s been speculated that the series (or at least the first season, depending on if this is a one-and-done project or not) will end with Wanda triggering a reverse-House of M event. In other words, rather than depower nearly every mutant in the world like she did in the comics, Wanda would actually empower many people on Earth and turn them into mutants.
Along with WandaVision, Scarlet Witch will also appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will open the door to more alternate realities. So clearly Scarlet Witch is becoming a bigger player in the MCU going forward, but now that her potential status as a mutant is on the table, she could be propelled to even higher levels of importance. The X-Men will arrive in the MCU someday, and if there’s a way that Scarlet Witch to factor into their introduction rather than them just appearing out of the blue, that would be yet another cool way for this superhero franchise to establish connective ties.
Of course, all of this is just speculation now, but rest assured, we here at CinemaBlend will keep you apprised of any major news concerning Scarlet Witch’s future in the MCU. For now, you can look forward to WandaVision premiering on Disney+ sometime in December, and look through our comprehensive guide detailing what MCU movies are coming up.
