WandaVision villain Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) leads a perilous excursion down Witches’ Road in Marvel’s latest series
Of all the unstoppable forces in the world of entertainment, Marvel is without a doubt one of the most prolific. Owned by Disney since 2009, when a $4-billion deal took place, Marvel Entertainment churns out a plethora of content each year, ranging from comics and games to movies and TV series.
In 2023 alone, Marvel released three new movies, three TV series and one season of animated shorts. The first film of last year, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, marked the beginning of a new era in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five. And not unlike our own universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe just keeps expanding.
The newest addition to Marvel’s catalogue is Agatha All Along, the highly anticipated spinoff of the hugely popular Disney+ series WandaVision, which was released in 2021 and follows Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), as they discover their perfect sitcom-worthy life may not be as ideal as it seems at first glance.
Now headed down an even darker side to the story, Agatha All Along premieres its first two episodes this week — just in time for spooky season.
As the title indicates, Agatha All Along focuses on master manipulator and “coven-less witch” Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). Initially introduced as a nosy neighbour in WandaVision, Agatha is now spellbound and hopes to regain her power by way of a goth teenager with curious motives. Collecting a coven of like-minded witches along the way, Agatha and her crew embark down the Witches’ Road, hoping to get their powers back one dark step at a time.
Agatha’s coven includes Lilia Calderu (Broadway veteran Patti LuPone), a 450-year-old Sicilian witch who may already be well known to fans of the Doctor Strange comic books. Lilia is a diviner and strong ally of the surgeon-turned-sorcerer, as well as the trusted keeper of the coveted Book of Cagliostro and its powerful spells.
Also along for the ride are: Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus) as Rio Vidal, a warrior and green witch who is eager to join the pilgrimage down Witches’ Road; SNL alum Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale, a sorceress and member of the Cult of Zhered-Na; Ali Ahn (The Diplomat) as Alice Wu-Gulliver, the magical daughter of a police detective and August Wu of the Coral Shore, guardian of Hong Kong; and Debra Jo Rupp, reprising her WandaVision role as Mrs. Hart/Sharon Davis.
The young goth responsible for the coven, on the other hand, simply goes by the name “Teen,” although speculative Marvel fans have posited that he may be none other than Billy Kaplan, later known in Marvel comics as Wiccan. Regardless of the character’s given name, Teen is played by young Manx actor Joe Locke, who won a Queerty Award for his performance in the Netflix series Heartstopper in 2023.
While speaking to Rolling Stone about his role, Locke notes that Agatha All Along may not be what most Marvel fans are used to seeing in the MCU.
“It’s a dark comedy about witches,” Locke states. “It’s not what you would usually expect from a Marvel series . . . We gather a coven and a very unlikely group of women and me — which is my life in general — get on the Witches’ Road. Then magic, fun and mystery prevails.”
Agatha All Along premieres on Wednesday, September 18 on Disney+