Hayley Atwell still isn’t happy with how Captain Carter was treated in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The actress recently revisited the character’s brief appearance in the 2022 Marvel movie and made it clear that she felt the hero deserved far more than the fate she was given.
Captain Carter appears alongside the Illuminati in an alternate universe, only to face Wanda Maximoff during one of the film’s most brutal sequences. After Carter throws her shield at Wanda, the Scarlet Witch sends it back at her, killing her with her own weapon.
Speaking at the For the Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention in London, Atwell explained that she had been frustrated with the scene even while filming it.
“If I’m really like brutally honest, I was so disappointed with how they positioned her and what happened to her in that scene. It’s so small, and she gets frisbeed to death,”Atwell said.
Atwell also revealed that she attempted to suggest changes while the scene was being filmed, but those suggestions did not make it into the movie.
Hayley Atwell Terms Carter’s Death A Disservice To The Character
Although Peggy Carter has been part of the MCU since Captain America: The First Avenger, her alternate-universe counterpart had only a few moments to establish herself before Wanda defeated her. Atwell was particularly unhappy with how little the sequence allowed Captain Carter to demonstrate what made the character special.
“I felt that was like a bum steer and a complete disservice to the character,” Hayley Atwell added.
The scene became even more frustrating for fans because Captain Carter had already established herself as a formidable hero in What If…?, where Atwell voiced the character and got considerably more room to explore her alternate version of Peggy.
Atwell has also joked about the irony of Captain Carter declaring that she could “do this all day” before being killed almost immediately. She previously discussed the moment on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2023.
“When she was like, ‘I could do this all day’ and then followed by she’s immediately cut in half by a frisbee. And the audience being like, ‘She can’t do it all day. Apparently you can’t, so, egg on your face.’ That doesn’t really serve Peggy very well.”
There could still be more Captain Carter ahead. Atwell has expressed interest in continuing to play the character and said she hopes Marvel eventually gives her a larger role.
“I hope maybe one day in the future they’ll give her more in that capacity.”
For a character who has already proved popular in animation, Atwell’s comments leave the door open for Marvel to give Captain Carter another chance in live action, this time with enough screen time to show what she can actually do.