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Elizabeth Olsen has also been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Scarlet Witch. On a conversation at the 2024 Vulture Festival, Olsen talks about balancing blockbuster success with the pursuit of indie film love. According to her, returning to Marvel is more of a choice for her and gives her that sense of security, which allows her to take the risk of working on independent projects.
Olsen added she doesn’t really view her Marvel commitments as a responsibility but rather as a safe foundation from which the rest of her career can stem. Marvel’s been such a consistent thing I’ve been able to return to and has created some feeling of insurance in my life that has given me freedom to choose other jobs. So I haven’t felt like, And then I’ll do this to do this.
She continues, saying her returning to Marvel projects is always character-driven. Every time, it’s character-driven. It’s always like, We have this idea, and that’s why we want you to come back. It’s not like, Just throw her in something.
He also reiterated the mutualistic symbiosis that blockbuster films and smaller ones have. She mentioned that larger films support their brethren in theatres, something already evidenced by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson over Spider-Man: No Way Home for supporting his film, Licorice Pizza.
Meanwhile, Olsen is still into various parts of independent cinema, notwithstanding the continued success found in MCU. She has just lately toplined sci-fi thriller The Assessment, which bowed at TIFF with distribution picked up by Prime Video. She has also finished work on dark comedy Love Child, from Todd Solondz, acknowledging it was particularly hard to get the piece made.
Olsen’s ability to swing between mainstream and independent cinema is a further sign of her versatility in acting and commitment to the storytelling of a broad range. Continuing to work on her commitment to Marvel while undertaking indie projects, Olsen is an influential force to be reckoned with in Hollywood as she inspires others to also follow their passion and take creative risks.
