Scarlet Witch
Genre: Horror/Supernatural/Superhero
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writer: Roy Horne
Based on Marvel Comics characters
Cast: Sadie Sink, Andrew Lincoln, Jet Li, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Nina Dobrev, Ben Wang, Iñaki Godoy, Loren Dean, Betsy Brandt, Kate Winslet (CAMEO)
Plot: Wanda Maximoff (Sadie Sink), dressed in a worn, long coat, moves through a bustling market square in Kyrgyzstan. She keeps her head down, avoiding eye contact as she weaves through the crowd. Her hands twitch involuntarily with the faint red glow of chaos magic. She steals an apple from a market stall using subtle chaos magic. Two local police officers notice the odd disturbance at the vendor's stall and begin following Wanda through the market. Realizing she is being pursued, Wanda quickens her pace, slipping into a narrow alley in an attempt to lose them. When the officers confront her, her anxiety surges, and magic flickers uncontrollably from her hands. Despite trying to hold back, her emotions explode, sending a wave of energy that distorts reality and causes an earthquake in the area. Terrified by her lack of control, Wanda closes her eyes and retreats into a pocket dimension - a dark, distorted mirror of the alley. The space is unstable and warps around her, but she is able to evade the police and catch her breath long enough to calm down.
Wanda stays in the pocket dimension, waiting for darkness, feeling trapped by her inability to control her powers. Suddenly she senses a presence - something or someone entering the hidden dimension. A ripple in the air heralds the arrival of Doctor Stephen Strange (Andrew Lincoln), who materializes before her in his mystical robes. Startled, Wanda reacts defensively, her chaos magic sparking as she hurls a burst of energy at Strange. He effortlessly deflects it with a glowing shield, calmly telling her that he means no harm. Wanda, still panicked, accuses him of following her and demands to know who he is. Strange explains that her use of chaos magic has created ripples in reality, drawing the attention of the Masters of the Mystical Arts. He reveals that he is has been sent to offer to help her understand and control her powers before they spiral out of control. Though suspicious, Wanda is intrigued by his ability to navigate her pocket dimension and hears him out. Strange offers to take Wanda to a place where she find the knowledge and guidance she needs... Kamar-Taj. Wanda reluctantly agrees. With a flick of his hand, Strange opens a portal, and Wanda steps through.
Wanda steps through Strange's portal and into the serene yet mystical world of Kamar-Taj, a hidden city nestled into the Himalayan mountains. Students in colorful robs practice martial and mystical arts in the courtyard, their movements fluid and precise. Wanda looks around cautiously, her exhaustion evident, as Strange reassures her that Kamar-Taj is a safe place where she can begin to understand her abilities. As Strange leads her deeper into Kamar-Taj, they pass by a group of students training. Among them is Wong (Ben Wang), a nervous and eager apprentice who is distracted by Wanda, stumbling during a spell demonstration. Wanda barely notices, by Wong continues looking at her as she and Strange walk away. They finally reach the Ancient One (Jet Li), who greets Wanda with a piercing gaze. He acknowledges the immense chaos energy coursing through her body, describing it as a rare and dangerous power that could reshape reality itself if not honed properly. Wanda becomes agitated, her eyes glowing red, and demands answers about her connection to Chthon and her mother, but the Ancient One speaks in riddles, warning her that true knowledge comes with responsibility. He tells her she must first learn to control her powers before she can uncover the truth. Though frustrated, Wanda agrees to stay, knowing she has nowhere else to turn.
Early in the morning, Wanda stands at the center of the courtyard, surrounded by students practicing their forms. Strange stands before her, arms crossed, as she struggles to replicate the controlled movements of spellcasting. Wanda’s frustration is palpable—while the other students weave their hands fluidly to summon controlled energy, her red chaos magic flickers unpredictably, refusing to be contained. Another student, Milo (Iñaki Godoy) ridicules Wanda's efforts, accusing her of being a danger to everyone around her. Every attempt to shape it into a precise sigil ends with a violent surge that nearly knocks her off balance. Watching from the sidelines, Wong offers her an encouraging suggestion to try to channel the energy rather than forcing it. Strange smirks but allows Wong to demonstrate. Wanda attempts Wong's advice, but the moment she closes her eyes, a flash of past traumas - her mother's betrayal, her adoptive parents' rejection - floods her mind and her magic flares wildly. The ground beneath them trembles. Students back away as Strange quickly suppresses the energy, telling Wanda that she needs to stop resisting herself and understand her magic rather than fearing it or she's going to hurt more people than she already has. Wanda, visibly shaken, storms off.
Later, Wanda finds herself sitting alone in the library of Kamar-Taj, staring at old manuscripts but unable to focus. Wong cautiously approaches, pretending to search for a book nearby. He awkwardly asks if she's read any of the ancient texts on dream manipulation, hoping to start a conversation. Wanda tells him she hasn't, but that it sounds like nonsense. Wong assures her it really is interesting and mentions that he has heard that the Dream Dimension holds secrets even the Ancient One fears.
Pietro Maximoff (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) blurs through landscapes at superspeed - a dense forest, a rain-soaked city street, a wide-open desert, and finally an Eastern European back alley where he comes to a sudden stop. His breath is heavy. He has been searching for his sister Wanda relentlessly. Pietro enters an underground bar where he has finally tracked rumors of a young red-haired woman with unnatural abilities. He demands information from the bartender, slamming some cash onto the counter. The bartender hesitates before nodding toward a figure hunched in a corner - a drifter who witnessed a strange event in Kyrgyzstan. The drifter recounts how the air shimmered and bent around a woman who vanished into thin air. Determined, Pietro races toward the Himalayas, pushing his body to its limits as he climbs higher into the thin, freezing air. He slows only when he reaches an ancient pathway leading toward Kamar-Taj, literally the last place on Earth he hasn't searched.
Wanda continues to struggle to control her chaos magic within the structured techniques being taught in Kamar-Taj. Sparks of red energy flicker and lash out unpredictably, forcing the other students to step back and keep their distance. Watching from the side, Clea (Nina Dobrev), Strange's sometimes lover, frowns with jealousy as she sees Strange guiding Wanda through corrections, offering her personal instruction in a way he isn't with the other student. That night, Clea sits alone in the forbidden section of the Kamar-Taj library, staring at an ancient, dust-covered tome she finds hidden away. Strange's words of praise for Wanda echo in her head. She flips through the brittle pages, finding a section on dream manipulation and interdimensional entities. A passage describes the Dream Dimension - a place where powerful beings lurk, waiting for an invitation into the waking world. Clea's eyes narrow as she mutters an incantation under her breath, the lights around her flickering. A shadow shifts in the corner of the room and hovers over Clea.
The halls of Kamar-Taj are silent as Wanda sits cross-legged in the meditation chamber, attempting to clear her mind, after having been instructed by Strange to focus on inner balance. Wanda takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and lets her consciousness drift. Almost immediately, a faint whisper creeps into her mind. Her surroundings blur, and when she opens her eyes, she is no longer in Kamar-Taj. She finds herself standing in her childhood home. Her adoptive parents, Robert (Loren Dean) and Madeline Frank (Betsy Brandt), sit on the couch, their expressions blank and their eyes dull like glass. Robert turns his head unnaturally slowly, saying that Wanda has always been a mistake. Madeline's hands tremble, tightly gripping a Bible. She whispers that they should have never taken her in, that Wanda is a devil's child. Suddenly their bodies crumble into ash, dissolving a gust of wind, leaving Wanda standing alone in the empty, rotting house. Wanda turns in horror, now finding herself transported to the snow-covered peaks of Wundagore Mountain, where Natalya Maximoff (Kate Winslet) stands at an altar. The night sky cracks open, revealing a churning void of darkness. Natalya turns to Wanda, telling her daughter that she was never meant to be free - she was always meant to belong to Chthon. From the dark skies, a pair of green eyes watch. Wanda screams and jolts awake, her body drenched in sweat. Strange watches her from a distance, sensing something is wrong. Wanda stumbles to her feet.
Deep within the forbidden library, Clea traces her fingers over glyphs of dream manipulation. A whisper slithers through the air, the inhuman voice of Nightmare, tells her that she is stronger than the others know and has been overlooked. A green light glows from the pages of the book. The energy of Nightmare rushes into her body. Clea screams as Nightmare burrows into her unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Milo is meditating in his chamber when the walls around him suddenly convulse. His eyes flicker open adn he finds himself in an endless black void. He sees Kamar-Taj in the distance. He stumbles toward it, hearing a whisper calling his name. He sees a twisted version of himself, skin peeling, eyes hollow, reaching for him. In the real world, Milo never wakes up - his face is frozen in an expression of terror. The next morning, Strange walks the halls, sensing an unnatural disturbance in the magical currents of Kamar-Taj. Strange finds Milo's lifeless body. He sees remnants of dream energy - something that should not exist in the waking world. Wanda happens by and watches as Strange mutters an incantation, his fingers tracing the air above Milo's corpse.
Night falls over Kamar-Taj. Strange, aware that something is corrupting the mystical stronghold, stands in the great hall with Wanda beside him. Two more dead bodies have been uncovered over the course of the day, faces twisted in terror. Strange grimly notes that their souls have been taken, trapped in an endless nightmare. The Ancient One enters and states that he has felt Nightmare's influence growing - a force from the Dream Dimension bleeding into their reality. He warns Strange and Wanda that if Nightmare has taken root in their domain, he is feeding, growing stronger with each victim. Before Strange can press for more details, a sudden inhuman shriek echoes through Kamar-Taj. A massive portal opens, spewing forth shadowy figures - nightmare constructs. They pour into the halls, grabbing students and dragging them into the Dream Dimension. The Ancient One begins slashing through the creatures with a sword made of light energy. Strange and Wands leap into action as well. As they slay the monsters, more emerge. Clea then appears. At first she seems like herself, but something is clearly off as she gets closer. Her eyes gleam an unnatural green. The voice of Nightmare comes through as her own, telling the Ancient One that he should have seen it all coming. Clea then plunges forward, plunging her hand into the Ancient One's chest. The Ancient One gasps, his form disintegrating into tendrils of dark mist. Wanda screams as Strange rushes forward. A massive surge of dream energy explodes, sending everyone flying backward. As the smoke clears, the Ancient One is gone - his presence erased, his soul trapped in the Dream Dimension. Clea stands before them, fully possessed by Nightmare.
Kamar-Taj is unraveling as Nightmare's influence distorts reality. Clea hovers above, her body wrapped in shifting shadows. Before Strange and Wanda can act, a sudden sonic boom shakes the space. Pietro arrives in a blur. He locks eyes with Wanda. Clea strikes. Nightmare creatures lunge at them. Strange conjures a shield, Wanda unleashes chaos magic, and Pietro dodges at superhuman speed. Pietro tries punching at them, but he can't physically fight something that isn't fully tangible. Clea sends a violent pulse at the ground, shattering it like glass. A void opens up beneath them. Pietro urges his sister to use her magic. Strange quickly decides that they all must enter the Dream Dimension and face Nightmare directly. Wong steps forward, gripping his staff. He tells the others to go through the portal to the Dream Dimension while he tries to keep the nightmare creatures at bay. Wanda, Strange, and Pietro disappear into the void. Wong stands alone, ready to face a horde of shadow creatures, knowing he is outmatched, but follows his training. As one creature stretches toward him, Wong creates a golden shield around himself, causing all the creatures that come into contact with it to shriek and dissolve. Wong fights against exhaustion to maintain his shield.
Strange, Wanda, and Pietro plunge into the abyss of the Dream Dimension. They land in a distorted and decaying version of Kamar-Taj. Nightmare himself appears. He waves his hands, twisting the dreamscape further, dragging each of them into their worst nightmares.
Pietro finds himself running faster than ever as he sees Wanda ahead calling for his help. Pietro pushes harder, but the faster he runs, the farther away she gets. For the first time in his life, his speed fails him. He crashes into the ground as time catches up. Fire engulfs Wanda, but she suddenly becomes a small child trapped in a burning house. Pietro tries to stand, but his legs crumble to dust. Nightmare mocks him, cackling that he'll never be as fast as he wants to be.
Strange finds himself in a high-tech surgical theater, dressed in his old scrubs, his hands steady as he performs a delicate operation on a patient. His mind tells him this is wrong - his hands were ruined years ago, but here they are working flawlessly. The nurses and assistants, but they have no faces. Strange steps back, confused. He then notices the body he's operating on is his own - splayed open on the table, organs shifting unnaturally. He stumbles back, knocking over a tray of tools. When he reaches to pick them up, his fingers snap like dry twigs.
Wanda finds herself in a crimson wasteland. She finds Robert and Madeline Frank, her adoptive parents. Madeline clutches a Bible fused into her hands. Robert's jaw hangs open to wide. Their bodies are suddenly split open from within, and Natalya Maximoff crawls out from their shredded remains. The ground beneath them rips apart and Chthon emerges. A throbbing red umbilical cord shoots from the abyss, wrapping around Wanda's throat/ Her skin splits, revealing swirling galaxies and shattered timelines beneath. Wanda tries to scream as Chthon pulls her down.
As Wanda, Strange, and Pietro are trapped in their personal hells, Nightmare absorbs their terror. Suddenly the trio manage to break free from their nightmares, stumbling forward. Nightmare's voice taunts them that he is stronger now, fueled by their fright. Clea emerges, her form half-human and half-nightmare. Strange tries to reach out to her, assuring her that he loves her. She attacks. Strange fights defensively, conjuring protective shields as Nightmare's energy shatters the landscape. Pietro dashes between strikes, his speed barely keeping him ahead of attacks. Wanda stands frozen, staring at Clea. Wanda realizes that Clea has been trapped as a prisoner in her own body, just as Chthon had tried to make her. A surge of fury and clarity washes over Wanda. She lifts her hands, brimming with chaos magic. She launches at Clea, slamming into her with the power of her magic. A violent collision of red and sickly green energy erupts. Clea convulses midair, her body caught in a violent struggle between herself and Nightmare, flickering between the two. Nightmare creates more monstrous constructs, which Strange uses his magic to destroy while Pietro distracts them with his speed. Wanda reaches into Clea's body, ripping Nightmare's hold on her out through her chest.
Clea is back to her normal self, trembling and crying. Nightmare, having lost his vessel, twists his form into a mass of shadows. Strange rushes to Clea's aid. Wanda steps forward, her chaos magic surging brighter than ever before. Wanda screams and uses her chaos magic to rip Nightmare apart. The Dream Dimension begins to fold in on itself. Strange quickly opens a portal back to Kamar-Taj. Pietro grabs Wanda's hand and pulls her through the portal, while Strange and Clea follow close behind.
Returning to Kamar-Taj, they find a battered but alive Wong waiting for their return. Strange commends Wong for his bravery in protecting Kamar-Taj. Clea doesn't say much. She looks at her hands - which tremble and still have a slight green tint of Nightmare's power. Pietro finally has a chance to talk to his sister and asks her why she left him after their mom died. Wanda doesn't have an answer as she is too exhausted for such a conversation today. She tells him that if he wants to find her again, just come to Kamar-Taj.
Days pass. The few remaining students tend to the wounded, while Strange and Clea oversee repairs. Wanda stands alone on a high balcony, overlooking the Himalayan peaks. For the first time, her chaos magic feels like an extension of herself rather than wild and uncontrollable. From a distance, Pietro watches. She turns to face him. He nods before vanishing in a blur of motion.
That night, as Wanda sleeps, something shifts. She hears the ancient voice of Chthon calling to her. She looks up and sees a pair of massive inhuman eyes looking down from a crimson sky. The eyes pulse at the beat of Wanda's heart. Wanda gasps awake, sitting up in bed, her body drenched in sweat. She then hears the voice of the Ancient One in her head telling her to be careful.
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