Elizabeth Olsen is known to Marvel fandom as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, who first appeared in an end credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. Since then, she has starred in five movies and a miniseries in the franchise. However, acting in Avengers: Age of Ultron was not her first time reacting to a whole lot of nothingness.
Interestingly, her first big feature with massive CGI effects was Godzilla, the film that kickstarted the Monsterverse. Olsen’s jump to the 2014 film was a pretty big step up since she was starring in some pretty impressive indie films before the transition. She rose to prominence with roles in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Kill Your Darlings, Silent House, and Oldboy.
Before Her Marvel Role, Elizabeth Olsen Got Acquainted With CGI in Godzilla
After her small cameo in The Winter Soldier, Elizabeth Olsen had her big introduction in the CGI-heavy Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, it was not her first big production after catching some eyes with her performance in indie films. Legendary Pictures first cast her as the female lead in their Godzilla reboot project.
Olsen revealed in a 2014 interview that it was her first CGI moment in a film. She shared that she didn’t have a green screen to film the scenes and added that all she worked with was just an eye line and a whole lot of imagination. She shared with ScreenRant:
Yeah, it was definitely my first time doing something like this. I didn’t have any green screen to work with, though, it was all just an eye line and imagination.
She further revealed that the filming experience in Godzilla was completely different from that of Age of Ultron. She shared that she was reacting to something that was not there in Godzilla. However, when it came to the Marvel film, she was “approaching and almost interacting with something that’s not there.”
It was not just the CGI that posed her a challenge in the film. She shared that it was challenging to film with a kid. She shared that working with four-year-old Carson Bolde at the time took some effort on her part. She contacted his mother and went with him to the parks to get to know him.
After Her Decade-Long Marvel Stint, Elizabeth Olsen May Want To Quit Playing The Superhero Role
In a 2023 interview with The Times UK, Elizabeth Olsen shared that she was trying to figure out other major projects outside of Marvel. She was concerned that ever since she took on the big franchise role, her name has become synonymous with the character.
Olsen wants to deliver more memorable characters beyond her Marvel role and pursue them in her prime years. The Sorry for Your Loss actress shared her concerns with The Times:
I’m trying to figure out… Because, specifically in the last four years, my output has been Marvel. I don’t want… it’s not that I don’t want to be associated as just this character. But I really feel like I need to be building other parts back up for balance.
I so much want to do films right now. And I hope some of them come together in the way I feel like they can. But yeah, that’s something that I need. I just need more, other characters in my life. There’s no longevity in one character.
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, the host asked Olsen one piece of advice she would give to young actors pursuing Marvel roles. Olsen responded, “just give them one”, meaning not to sign multiple movie contracts. The Wind River actress is clearly ready to move on from her Scarlet Witch role.
Godzilla is now available for streaming on Max.
