Hayley Atwell Complains About Peggy’s Treatment in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Hayley Atwell is currently promoting Mission Impossible: Deadly Judgment – Part One (95%), where she participates for the first time in this franchise alongside Tom Cruise. Atwell is no stranger to high-level productions, as she is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (UCM) with her character Peggy Carter.
Her last appearance was during a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (88%), where Peggy and the rest of the Illuminati are cruelly murdered by the Scarlet Witch. The actress recently spoke about this cameo and confessed that she was not very happy with the treatment her character received.
Peggy’s Journey in the MCU
It was in Captain America: The First Avenger (79%) that we first saw Hayley Atwell in the shoes of Peggy Carter, the love interest of Steve Rogers. Her participation was very well received by the fans and despite the fact that at the end of the film it seemed that we would not see her again, Marvel found ways to bring her back. The public’s liking for her character gave Atwell the opportunity to reprise Peggy on several occasions.
We first saw her return in 2013’s Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, a short intended to tell what happened to her after Steve’s disappearance. In 2014, Atwell returned to play Peggy in Captain America: The Soldier of Winter (89%), where she made a small appearance as an already aged version of the character. She also appeared a couple of times on Agents of SHIELD (86%) and had a cameo in Ant-Man (81%). As the public wanted to see more of her, Marvel released her own series in 2015, recounting Peggy’s adventures as an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) after the war ended. The series lasted two seasons.
A few years passed, and despite the fact that Hayley Atwell continued to give Peggy the voice in various animated projects, it wasn’t until Avengers: Endgame (95%) that we saw her again. At the end of the Infinity Saga, it was announced that the next Saga would be the Multiverse, opening up new possibilities for the character. The animated series What If…? (84%) explored parallel universes to the UCM and introduced the version of Peggy Carter that would become Captain Carter.
Unfavorable Treatment in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
It is in this series that we see for the first time the version of Peggy Carter that would become Captain Carter. Atwell provided the voice for her, and audience reception for the character was very good. So it was decided that they could rescue that character for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, or at least a version of her in another universe. But Atwell confesses that it is not something favorable for her character.
During the Happy Sad Confused podcast (Via Variety), she expressed her disappointment with the treatment of Peggy in the film. She mentioned the scene where Peggy says, “I could do this all day,” but immediately gets sliced in half by a frisbee. Atwell believes that this scene does not do justice to Peggy’s character and doesn’t make her look good.
Comparing her experience working on What If…?, Atwell felt more satisfied despite it being a voice-only job. She believes that the character of Peggy has more potential and they knew how to take advantage of it in the animation. She ended by saying that her participation in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was somewhat frustrating.
Conclusion
Hayley Atwell’s portrayal of Peggy Carter has been well-received by fans, and she has had the opportunity to explore the character in various Marvel projects. However, her recent cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness left her dissatisfied with the treatment of her character. Atwell believes that the animated series What If…? did a better job of utilizing Peggy’s potential. Despite this disappointment, Atwell continues to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and fans can look forward to seeing more of Peggy Carter in the future.
