Elizabeth Olsen Recommends Potential Marvel Stars Don’t Sign a Multi-Year Deal Immediately

Elizabeth Olsen has recommended that actors joining the MCU should consider only signing a contract for one project to start.

The actress, who plays Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in the MCU, told Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that some people have reached out for advice about signing on with Marvel and that she encourages those people to avoid agreeing to multi-year deals upfront.

“Just give them one,” she said before elaborating. “I think that way you have more control over… if you, let’s say, you’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is the most fun I’ve ever had, and I love this character so much, I want to do it again,’ you now have more creative control for the next one.”

She then jokingly added, “Don’t tell [David] Galluzzi that. [He’s] business affairs at Marvel.”

Marvel has traditionally offered stars multi-project deals from the outset. However, the studio adopted a new strategy for hiring and maintaining actors a couple of years ago when Kevin Feige expressed his desire for talent to only return to the MCU if they’re enthusiastic about it.

“It varies, project to project, cast to cast,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “Really, what we want are people that come in, are excited to be in the universe, are excited at the opportunity to do more things, as opposed to being locked into contractual obligations.”

Iron Man was the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Robert Downey Jr. played a critical role in the success and expansion of the franchise. Feige and Jon Favreau recently reflected on the now-iconic casting and how it attracted more big names to start signing on.

Favreau directed Downey again in Iron Man 2 before handing the character’s solo adventures to Shane Black. The Iron Man films are available on Disney+, along with most other MCU entries, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which joined the library on May 17.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.