Avengers: Infinity War’s conclusion was an emotional one for many Marvel fans. The most gut-wrenching scene occurred when Wanda Maximoff must kill Vision to retrieve the Soul Stone. Viewers could feel Maximoff’s anguish as she had to sacrifice her loved one to save humanity. The gravity of the scene came courtesy of Elizabeth Olsen’s performance. While fans found the scene heart-wrenching, Olsen was embarrassed by the pivotal moment. The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star explained why filming the emotional scene was embarrassing for her.
The WandaVision star spilled to Variety how the pre-blip scene came together. She only knew Paul Bettany’s Vision was going to die when reading the scene, and didn't know her own character's fate. Olsen revealed she and the other Avengers didn’t learn who was going to disappear until the day of filming. She admitted the news was shocking for the actors.
After receiving the news, the Ingrid Goes West actress filmed with Bettany as the last shot of the day. Of course, Olsen had to get into the right headspace to channel Wanda’s emotional turmoil. But filming the crucial Infinity War scene was uncomfortable as she had to play pretend in the moment. She recalled relying on Bettany as a great scene partner to make their onscreen relationship authentic.
So, it’s very embarrassing shooting those kinds of things, because, like, the world depends on you doing it. And we did some improvising, which is hard to improvise those moments. But it also felt good, because at that point, Paul [Bettany] and I really had each other’s back. It was one of the last things we shot. I felt really comfortable with him as an actor if we had to improvise that beat a little bit. We were trying to find it, with the Russos guiding us. And then, once it was over, it was a huge amount of relief. And I just remember being giggly the rest of the day, while Brolin had his helmet on. And I don’t know. These movies are very silly, but you have to act your ass off for them to work. Because you’re like — [holds out her hand]. Ugh, I’m doing this in public. But you have one hand out that’s stopping something with energy. And then you’ve got another hand that’s extracting this fake thing from this dotted face. And it’s painful and emotional.
Making a superhero film is all about making everything believable. But even an MCU star can have a tough time creating a heart-wrenching moment while faking their powers before visual effects are added. Olsen laughing at Josh Brolin in his Thanos helmet was a perfect response to the scene. But combining improvisation with her commitment to the role and the Russo brothers’ direction created one of Infinity War’s best scenes. Of course, the emotional scene could’ve played out differently, according to some unveiled Marvel concept art.
Avengers: Infinity Wars set the tone for the Infinity Saga’s conclusion. The fight to get all the Infinity Stones forced the warring factions of Avengers to combine forces in taking down Thanos. Being involved in the penultimate finale is why Olsen favors the film over its follow-up Avengers: Endgame. The heightened emotions and intense action paid off for the 2018 film as it pulled in over $2 billion at the worldwide box office.
While the Scarlet Witch’s MCU run may have ended in Doctor Stranger 2, Marvel fans can revisit Elizabeth Olsen’s time in the MCU by watching Avengers: Infinity War through a Disney+ subscription. While on the streamer, go and watch all the Marvel movies in order. Despite the Scarlet Witch’s ambiguous end, there are still upcoming Marvel movies to look forward to, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which hits theaters on November 11.
