SUMMARY

Wanda Maximoff’s tragic character arc in WandaVision leads her to become a multiverse-threatening supervillain.
Marvel appears to confirm that WandaVision will not receive a second season via the labelling of the show’s DVD.
WandaVision’s story may continue indirectly through spin-off shows focusing on Agatha Harkness and White Vision.

The fate of the MCU’s version of Wanda Maximoff and the future of WandaVision was confirmed by Marvel nearly three years after the show’s premiere. Wanda Maximoff undergoes a tragic character arc in WandaVision that sees her put her powers to their most horrific use in the MCU, as she transitions from Avenger to multiverse-threatening supervillain. As the Scarlet Witch, Wanda is the antagonist of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which seemingly ended on an ambiguous note for Maximoff, potentially leaving the door open for future appearances.

Overcome by grief over the loss of her lover, Vision, after Avengers: Infinity War (and having lost her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff, in Avengers: Age of Ultron), Wanda Maximoff unleashes her mind-controlling and reality-warping powers on the Northern New Jersey town of Westview. Multiverse of Madness completed Wanda’s turn to villainy by having her embrace the corrupting powers of the Darkhold and murder anyone necessary to allow her to live in a reality with her sons, Billy and Tommy Maximoff. Wanda seemingly dies, however, when she destroys the Darkhold Castle, bringing the massive structure down on her.

WandaVision’s Home Release Confirms It Won’t Get A Second Season

The ambiguous nature of Wanda’s demise in Multiverse of Madness has led some to understandably predict that she may return to the MCU, possibly in another season of WandaVision. Marvel has effectively debunked this notion with the forthcoming home media release of Marvel Studios’ WandaVision: The Complete Series, whose name indicates that the show’s first season is its only season. Comparatively, Loki’s first home media release, which was announced simultaneously, is listed as Marvel Studios’ Loki: The Complete First Season, accounting for Loki season 2.

Not only will WandaVision not receive another season, but Wanda Maximoff herself is also potentially unlikely to return to the MCU. Elizabeth Olsen has stated that she has no plans to reprise her role as Wanda Maximoff, seeing WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness as natural stepping-off points for a character she was proud to have portrayed for nearly a decade. Kevin Feige, notably, expressed enthusiasm to bring Olsen back as Wanda, implying that perhaps a multiversal variant of her may play a role in a future MCU property. For the primary MCU iteration of Wanda Maximoff, however, it is safe to assume that she is deceased.

How WandaVision Can Continue Without A Second Season

Whether or not Wanda herself returns to the MCU, WandaVision can continue in an indirect sense via its spiritual successors. WandaVision’s antagonist, Agatha Harkness, will star in the upcoming Agatha, which will presumably continue her story following the events of WandaVision. Vision’s reincarnated form, the MCU’s White Vision, will also star in an upcoming property: Vision Quest.

This approach allows WandaVision’s two most interesting storylines to continue to be explored parallel to one another. Agatha can explore the future of the beloved new MCU villain and delve deeper into the magical community, giving audiences a look at what more witch-oriented magic-users look like – which is a massive subset of Marvel’s comic characters. On the other side of things, Vision Quest can continue the more philosophical questions put forward by Vision’s rebirth of sorts, and potentially bridge the MCU together closer since White Vision is theorized to potentially meet up with someone like Ironheart or War Machine.

WandaVision told a complete story, bridging Wanda’s character development between Avengers: Endgame and Multiverse of Madness and her tumultuous journey along the way. As such, with this iteration of Wanda seemingly permanently deceased, the show is better off being continued via its two spinoff shows.

What Elizabeth Olsen & WandaVision’s Director Have Said About Season 2

WandaVision director Matt Shakman gave perhaps the most straightforward answer when asked about whether WandaVision season 2 could be possible by The Direct, stating “I don’t think so, you know, we were telling a very specific story, a complete story; a story about grief, about Wanda’s journey, having lost Vision, and we completed that story. And Jac Schaeffer is an amazing writer who wrote ‘WandaVision’, [and she] has created a show called ‘Agatha’.” This again directly suggests Agatha will in some ways be serving as WandaVision season 2, and further establishes a direct follow-up is more than unlikely.

While Olsen has expressed love for the MCU and her role within it, she has also been open about wanting to explore other opportunities following many years of playing MCU’s Scarlet Witch, mentioning in an interview with Variety that she was “trying to load up other films and characters so it becomes less about the Marvel of it all.” This – combined with statements about WandaVision being an impactful and poignant release – also suggest she’s unlikely to reprise the character anytime soon, though a multiversal variant could still potentially be a viable avenue down the line.

Marvel’s TV Changes Make Future MCU Season 2’s More Likely

While Marvel’s TV changes come too late to realistically change whether WandaVision season 2 happens now, they do hold more fruit for potential follow-up seasons down the line. As the first MCU show made for Disney+, WandaVision was the first release of a series of shows that ran for only one season, seemingly because the franchise was placing a focus on a wide variety of installments in order to gauge audience response.

When this proved a somewhat more tumultuous approach, the decision was made to change tactics. This saw Marvel overhaul TV production in a variety of ways, including bringing back showrunners and head writers for series, and moving things back to a method that is closer to the traditional TV-making formula.

Taking this approach allows the franchise to thus also move back towards more traditional multi-season shows – something that is in line with the newer MCU focus of leaning closer into characters and series that connect most with audiences, and something that can ensure surefire hits like WandaVision season 2 could have been are more viable for the franchise. Hopefully, this approach proves the most ideal for both audiences and the MCU itself.