MarvelBlog News for April 5th, 2026

This week in MarvelBlog News, we’ve got three different stories about Marvel characters.

One current Avenger has no idea what’s happening, while two others may arrive soon.

We’ll discuss these things and a Marvel Rivals controversy you won’t believe.

The Wanda Mystery Deepens

I’d love to be a fly on the wall in Kevin Feige’s office. I mean, that’s true in general.

Right now, I’m being more specific while assessing the odd behavior of actress Elizabeth Olsen.

The younger sister of the Olsen Twins has long since surpassed the celebrity of her siblings.

If you were alive for the Full House era of television, you understand how amazing that is.

For a time, the Olsen Twins were a cottage industry sizable enough that they’re worth $1 billion.

Not much was expected of Elizabeth, yet she evolved into a highly regarded performer.

More importantly for our discussion, she’s the Scarlet Witch in the MCU. Therein lies the problem.

We haven’t seen Wanda Maximoff since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

That film debuted four years ago, leaving the fate of its villainess up for debate.

Everyone has anxiously awaited Maximoff’s redemption story arc since 2022.

For her part, Olsen is behaving like a rogue agent in discussing the details of her return.

She previously claimed that she wasn’t appearing in VisionQuest, the de facto sequel to WandaVision.

Then, she stated that she wasn’t in Avengers: Doomsday, the next-most likely spot for her comeback.

Whenever she speaks, I cannot decide whether she’s doing Feige’s dirty work for him.

If anything, she may be making his life harder by stirring all this speculation about her honesty.

Marvel fans don’t seem to believe her about VisionQuest, and they’re not sure about The Avengers, either.

MCU performers often lie about their roles and upcoming appearances.

The prevailing belief is that Olsen is doing that, too, but reading the tea leaves is hard with her.

What Olsen Said

While speaking at a C2E2 panel, Olsen reiterated her previous comments.

When asked about Avengers: Doomsday, the actress casually stated, “I know nothing.”

She then added, “I know about VisionQuest because I’ve seen (Paul Bettany) in the last six months, but I know nothing about any of it.”

The actress then responded to a question about Avengers: Secret Wars by saying:

“Is that what happens after this day? I’m not kidding.” This one made me head-desk.

Either she is playing up the woefully dated clueless blonde stereotype, or she’s running a con.

I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter, but if she is, she is REALLY laying it on thick. As proof:

“I don’t know what’s going on. It’s safer for me to not know anything…”

Actually, I believe that, especially after all the nonsense we’ve witnessed with Tom Holland.

That dude cannot keep a secret, and maybe Olsen is like that as well. So, she does this.

She may well weaponize her lack of information to pretend as if she doesn’t know what’s happening.

The actress did clarify the one request she’d made of Marvel about usage of her character.

“I just want to be of service to telling these stories better each time.” That’s a reasonable request.

You can watch the entire interview here if you want to read the tea leaves yourself:

Marvel Casting News

The other two big Marvel stories this week involve casting, and they’re both rumors for now.

We’ll start with the more exciting one, which is the potential new Black Panther.

While Shuri currently holds that title, there’s an expectation that she’ll cede the role soon.

The prevailing belief is that her relationship with Disney remains strained after the pandemic.

You may recall that Letitia Wright suffered a serious injury during the shoot.

Then, there were reported issues about her vaccination status and other production conflicts.

This may be an instance where both parties desire a clean break, and we know when.

Speculation centers on the reveal of a new Black Panther during Avengers: Secret Wars.

Previously, people had said the same thing about Avengers: Doomsday. So, what has changed?

Well, the answer is apparently not much. Marvel just decided to wait a film for that reveal.

If true, this rumor would explain all the recent reports about potential Black Panther casting.

The timing definitely aligns, which is not something I can about the other big rumor.

Anne Hathaway was recently named a Disney Legend, and she’s apparently not done yet.

The actress, who is currently technically Catwoman in the DCU, may be joining the DCU.

You may recall that she was rumored to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The actress allegedly passed on this opportunity, but she warmed to the idea of Marvel.

So, she’s in discussions to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, at least if the rumor is to believed.

Since Disney loves Hathaway, who is about to appear in The Devil Wore Prada 2, I tend to believe it.

Marvel Miscellany

We’ve got two more stories to cover this week, and they’re connected. They’re also uncomfortable.

You don’t come here for politics, and we want to respect that fact.

However, the current season of Daredevil: Born Again has made that a bit challenging.

In addition, Marvel Rivals did this last weekend, and people noticed.

Read into this move what you will, but it’s not exactly subtle. For that matter, neither is Daredevil.

Slate phrased the situation like this, and while #SladePitches is a thing, the author isn’t wrong here.

Season one production occurred before the election, but season two happened afterward.

So, the parallels theoretically could be coincidental. They just don’t seem like they are.

People are talking about it, which means I should at least mention it, too.

 

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Front page image credit: (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney)