As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to be the world’s highest-grossing franchise and Avengers: Endgame rules the roost as the most successful movie of all time, fans are looking to the future.

Kevin Feige is already sketching his plans for what comes in Phase 4 and beyond. After Earth’s Mightiest heroes toppled Josh Brolin’s Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, fans are looking ahead at who will be the franchise’s next big bad.

While the likes of Galactus, Kang the Conquerer, and Adam Warlock are all likely candidates, a new theory pitches Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch for a turn to the dark side.

Posting on Reddit, uber-fan u/cdhelt1225 says the upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will turn Scarlet Witch into Phase 4’s ultimate villain.

To recap, the end of Avengers: Infinity War saw Thanos rip the Mind Stone from Vision’s head and leave the rockin’ robot for dead. Even though Avengers: Endgame brought back dusted heroes, Paul Bettany’s love interest of Scarlet Witch was nowhere to be seen.

As the theory goes, Multiverse of Madness will see Maximoff go full Doctor Frankenstein as she attempts to bring Vision back to life. This will lead to catastrophic events similar to the popular “House of M” comic arc where Scarlet Witch screws with reality.

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Cleverly, Scarlet Witch becoming the next villain also ties up a few MCU loose ends and sets the ball rolling for the future. Offering a handy get out of jail free card to explain Spider-Man’s loss to Sony, multiple realities also opens the door for the arrival of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men

This all neatly combines with Wanda Maximoff’s impressive skillset. Although we’ve only briefly scratched the surface of her powers, Feige recently confirmed she’s the strongest Avenger and could’ve easily defeated Thanos on her own.

Whatever is going on, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness looks like it could be one of Phase 4’s defining movies. Without the usual inclusion of a classic Avengers ensemble movie, MoM could easily fill the gap left behind by Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and (now) Spider-Man.

As it stands, many fans are confused at how/why Scarlet Witch will be part of the Doctor Strange sequel. Even though the Sorcerer Supreme dabbled in various dimensions in Scott Derrickson’s 2016 movie, it sounds like this will be nothing compared to Multiverse of Madness‘ bizarre trip.

Derrickson in back in the director’s chair to helm the superhero sequel, which is confirmed to take place directly after the events of Disney+’s WandaVision TV series. While villains like Nightmare have been tipped to join the movie — possibly played by David Tennant according to Reddit — it could be misdirection as Scarlet Witches emerges as a dangerous new foe.

The first teaser for WandaVision had a particularly creepy vibe as it channelled 1950s sitcoms, and things are only getting weirder from here on out. Remembering Maximoff’s famous daddy is Magneto, we’re fully expecting her to somehow be tied to the arrival of the X-Men.

Similar to how 20th Century Fox adapted the acclaimed “Dark Phoenix Saga” (twice and with mixed success), Phase 4 could easily turn Wanda Maximoff into a sympathetic villain who slowly loses her sanity and evolves into a dangerous adversary to the Avengers. Either way, you can bet your own golden Infinity Gauntlet that things are going to get a lot worse for Scarlet Witch before they get better.

[Featured Image: Disney/Marvel]