‘VisionQuest’ Showrunner Reveals Why Scarlet Witch’s Return Almost Came Much Earlier

Marvel fans spent years wondering whether Wanda Maximoff would ever resurface, and the Scarlet Witch in ‘VisionQuest‘ became one of the show’s biggest question marks. The Disney+ series launched on October 14, with Paul Bettany returning as Vision and James Spader back as Ultron. Wanda hasn’t been seen since ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’

Going in, the messaging was clear. Showrunner Terry Matalas confirmed in Empire Magazine that Scarlet Witch would not appear in the series. He also stressed that he wasn’t teasing Wanda’s return when asked about it. Elizabeth Olsen, for her part, said in a 2025 interview that she didn’t even know the show was happening until she caught up with Bettany.

Then the finale arrived. The ‘VisionQuest’ season finale featured a surprise post-credits scene with the return of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, setting up ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ next month, and it wasn’t shown to the press in advance. The scene appears to confirm that Olsen will return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’

Matalas has now explained how close the show came to featuring her earlier. He says the writers talked about having her appear in a dreamlike way, but if that happened at the wrong time, the episode would become about that. Matalas told Gold Derby that “it really needed to be about Vision,” and that the end credits sequence became the way to address Wanda.

The logic is simple: this is Vision’s story. A Scarlet Witch appearance in the middle of the season would have pulled attention from his journey of rebuilding his identity, and the post-credits placement lets the show give fans the payoff without taking the spotlight.

Bettany has echoed that thinking. He confirmed to The Playlist that discussions about the Scarlet Witch appearing in the main series did take place, but it was ultimately decided it wouldn’t be the best choice for the story Matalas was telling. He also noted there were questions about whether it opened up too much for the MCU, or whether it should happen later.

It wasn’t the only big name left out of the main story. Matalas has also confirmed that Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark weren’t included for budgetary reasons. Taken together, the choices suggest a deliberately narrow focus, with the big MCU crossover moments saved for the film side.

The first trailer for #VisionQuest, premiering October 14 on Disney+. https://t.co/jIcsJ2Iarl

— Rotten Tomatoes 🍅 (@RottenTomatoes) August 15, 2026

There’s also a behind-the-scenes wrinkle. Matalas wrote and directed the finale, ‘Forever,’ but he wasn’t personally behind the camera for that particular sequence, and he hasn’t named anyone. He also confirmed that Downey’s voice is heard in the scene.

The sequence clearly landed with audiences. Disney confirmed that the finale fueled a spike in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ ticket sales, with Scarlet Witch as the reason. That makes the choice to hold her back until the credits look like a shrewd bit of showmanship.

Don’t count on a clean goodbye just yet. Matalas stops short of saying the finale represents a true series wrap on a journey that started with ‘WandaVision,’ saying he doesn’t think it’s really over until that family is reunited. That family includes Vision, Wanda, Tommy and Billy, played by Joe Locke, who inherited his mother’s witchy powers.

That leaves plenty of room for the next chapter. If ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is where Wanda’s return officially plays out, the groundwork laid by the ‘VisionQuest’ stinger could pay off in a big way. What remains unclear is how much of the family reunion Marvel is willing to spend on the big screen versus the small one.

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