Hayley Atwell, the actress who brought Captain Carter to life, has voiced significant criticism regarding the character's fate in Marvel Studios' 2022 film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Atwell described the scene, where Captain Carter is bisected by her own shield, as a "complete disservice to the character."
Speaking at the For the Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention in London, Atwell shared her disappointment with the storyline. Captain Carter, an alternate version of Peggy Carter who gained superpowers and became a super-soldier, made her debut in the film alongside other multiverse variants. However, her appearance was brief and ended abruptly when she was swiftly defeated by the Scarlet Witch.
"If I’m brutally honest, I was so disappointed with how they positioned her and what happened to her in that scene," Atwell told the convention audience. "It’s so small, and she gets frisbeed to death."
Atwell also noted the scene's proximity to Captain Carter echoing a line previously spoken by Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. "I can do this all day," she declared, a callback that Atwell felt highlighted the stark contrast with Steve Rogers' resilience and felt "mean-spirited" given Captain Carter's swift demise. She suggested that the scene was an unnecessary display of the Scarlet Witch's power, as this had already been established earlier in the film.
"I felt that [Carter's death] was a bum steer, and a complete disservice to the character," Atwell added. She revealed that she attempted to offer suggestions during filming but was ultimately unheeded. "I tried on set to kind of go, ‘Can I just add? Can I just suggest?’ And they were like, ‘Sure, but no.’"
Despite this dissatisfaction, Atwell is slated to appear in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The specifics of her role in that film remain undisclosed, but fans hope for a more substantial and rewarding portrayal of the beloved character.