Actor Hayley Atwell addressed fan and viewer frustrations regarding her 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe appearance, calling Captain Carter’s abrupt death scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness a “complete disservice” to the character. Speaking at the For the Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention in London, according to reporting by Polygon, the British actor detailed her on-set disappointment with how the alternate-universe superhero met her end.
Hayley Atwell Details Disappointment Over Captain Carter’s Multiverse of Madness Death
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Hayley Atwell reprised her role as Peggy Carter, though transformed into the super-soldier variant known as Captain Carter. During a brutal confrontation with Elizabeth Olsen’s character, the Scarlet Witch, Captain Carter hurls her iconic shield, only for the villain to fling it right back, slicing the hero in half. According to Polygon, Atwell told the convention audience that she found the sequence anticlimactic. “If I’m brutally honest, I was so disappointed with how they positioned her and what happened to her in that scene,” Atwell stated. “It’s so small, and she gets frisbeed to death.”
The sequence immediately follows Captain Carter echoing Steve Rogers’ famous line from Captain America: The First Avenger by declaring, “I can do this all day.” According to Polygon, Atwell noted that this callback inadvertently highlights a stark power imbalance while feeling somewhat mean-spirited toward the hero. Atwell revealed that she attempted to offer alternatives while filming the sequence. “I tried on set to kind of go, ‘Can I just add? Can I just suggest?’ And they were like, ‘Sure, but no,'” Atwell recalled to the audience.
Future Marvel Appearances and Franchise History
Despite the contentious fate of her Multiverse variant, Hayley Atwell’s tenure with Marvel Studios spans well over a decade. According to Polygon, she first debuted as Peggy Carter in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger as a foundational architect of S.H.I.E.L.D. She later anchored the ABC television series Agent Carter and starred in a Marvel Studios One-Shot short film released on the Iron Man 3 home media release, which CBR noted showcased the character breaking out of period-typical gender roles to lead her own operations alongside figures like Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark.
Fans looking for redemption for the character may find relief in upcoming studio slates. According to Polygon, Marvel confirmed that Hayley Atwell will return to the franchise in Avengers: Doomsday. While Marvel Studios has kept plot specifics under wraps regarding how her return will manifest, audience members and supporters of the character anticipate a more substantial narrative arc than her brief appearance in Doctor Strange sequel.