Elizabeth Olsen has advice for actors thinking about joining the MCU: 'Just give them one'
Elizabeth Olsen has some advice for actors thinking about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Less is more.
The actress, who has starred as the indomitable Wanda Maximoff for the past eight year, says she's had "some people" reach out to her about jumping into the franchise. In response, she's offered some words of wisdom: "Just give them one."
Yes, as in sign on for only a single project. But! Before anyone panics, Olsen has a solid reason for why that's a good idea.
"I think that way you have more control over… If you, let's say, '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 explained on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Olsen's idea for a trial run makes sense given that Marvel has historically offered its stars multi-project deals right out the gate: Sebastian Stan and Samuel L. Jackson reportedly both joined the franchise under nine-movie contracts, while Tom Holland and Chris Evans both agreed to six-project deals. Having the opportunity to choose whether to keep playing a superhero for the foreseeable future — and provide feedback on how one's stories are developed — at least, in theory, flips the scripts in one's favor.
"Don't tell [David] Galluzzi that," Olsen jokingly added. "[He's] business affairs at Marvel."
However, Marvel's long contracts may be slowly becoming a thing of the past. In 2021, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told The Hollywood Reporter that the overall duration of them has become much more role-dependent in recent years.
"It varies, project to project, cast to cast," he said 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."
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