Elizabeth Olsen didn’t watch Marvel movies at premieres for fear of ‘failure’
As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters, Elizabeth Olsen, who appears in the film, admits she “hasn’t seen it” yet.
On Wednesday, the WandaVision star stopped by The Tonight Show to discuss the latest Marvel film in which she reprises her role as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch.
Olsen, 33, also talked with the late-night host about her surprise at the attention WandaVision has received, breaking streaming records and being nominated for 23 Emmy Awards in 2021.
“No one does a Marvel job and thinks that you’re going to get nominated for something,” the actress told Jimmy Fallon with a laugh.
Additionally, she said the Emmys were the first time the cast was able to celebrate the show together, as they wrapped shooting during COVID-19.
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This week, Olsen said, she got to celebrate with her Marvel Cinematic Universe team when they attended the premiere of the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role.
“It’s amazing to be in front of people clapping and screaming,” she said of the Hollywood premiere, noting the experience of being with fans in person.
Regarding Wanda/Scarlet Witch’s enthusiastic fanbase thanks to WandaVision, Olsen told PEOPLE at Monday night’s premiere that being able to do the series ahead of this new movie “was an amazing opportunity.”
“I think because of the experience that the audience and the fans have had with WandaVision, they’ll have a different perspective coming into Doctor Strange, and I’m excited for the journey they’re about to see Wanda go on in this film,” she said.
On Wednesday, Olsen admitted to Fallon that she hasn’t actually seen the movie yet — even at the premiere.
“I just decided I can’t watch these Marvel movies at a premiere anymore,” she said. “Every time I watch it and I look around me and I’m like ‘Well, it’s our first flop’ — like, every time, I just think, ‘It’s our first flop.’ “
Olsen recalled her experience watching Avengers: Endgame, the MCU’s highest-grossing film to date, and said even then she looked around and thought, “Is this our first flop?” After that, she said, she decided she didn’t want to put herself through the same experience again.
“It is so not a flop,” said Fallon, 47. “And you are getting great reviews, by the way. You just pop; you’re stunning in this thing.”
Fallon asked the actress if she reads reviews — and she admitted she does if they are sent directly to her. “Michael Waldron, who wrote [Multiverse of Madness], sent me a segment of one and it was such an absurd quote that I just told him, ‘You’re mean and you’re lying,’ ” Olsen said.
In addition to her acting duties, Fallon also discussed Olsen’s newest addition to her résumé: a children’s book author.
The actress talked about her and husband Robbie Arnett’s book Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective, which will be released at the end of June. She said the couple came up with the idea during COVID lockdown as they were trying to figure out how to spread positivity in children.
The book tells the story of “Hattie Harmony,” who helps her friends at school identify their feelings and gives them tools to help “deal with their worries.”
Olsen said the upcoming book is just the first in a series they plan to publish, with the next one coming out in 2023.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now.
