Chris Evans was once just as unsure about the idea of him becoming Captain America as fans who thought he was the wrong guy for the job. However, by the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier rolled out in 2014, it was obvious there really was no other guy better for the job and as he led the charge against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame he had earned the love and resect of fans and the right to finally say “Avengers…Assemble.” Like fellow Infinity Saga stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlet Johansson, Evans walked away from the MCU after Endgame; however, unlike those stars, Evans‘ Steve Rogers is still alive and well somewhere within the Marvel Universe leaving fans to wonder if he’ll ever return to action.
Nearly three years ago, Deadline reported that Evans had in fact made a deal to return as Rogers in an unnamed project with an option to return for a second theatrical project. With Hollywood still catching up from COVID, Disney slowing Marvel Studios roll and a pair of long-lasting strikes, much of what Marvel Studios may have had planned has been hit with a series of delays so if Evans had planned a return to the MCU, there’s no telling just how far off that might be. Now, in an interview with GQ, Evans addresses the possibility of his return and gives an idea of when it might happen.
“Yeah, maybe,” said Evans about his return to Marvel. “I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests.“
Of course, “soon” is relative and with the mountain of delays Marvel is currently looking to overcome, it looks like no new projects would be on the slate for at least another year or more anyway which would put a new Evans-led project somewhere in 2025 or 2026 anyway. That would certainly feel like something other than “soon” for a character who is already 4 years removed from his last appearance. With an adaptation of Secret Wars set to conclude the Multiverse Saga for Marvel Studios, an appearance by Cap–or even Iron Man and Black Widow–is clearly not out of the question and would likely very much live up to those expectations Evans is referring to.
Following in the footsteps of Lucasfilm’s most recent Star Wars streaming series, Ahsoka, the upcoming second season of Marvel Studios’ Loki has shifted its release date just a couple of weeks away from its premiere. Originally intended to debut on Friday, October 6th, Tom Hiddleston will instead make his glorious return to Disney Plus on October 5th.
The new promo also revealed that, like Ahsoka, new episodes of Loki will roll out at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET rather than the 12 AM PT/3 AM ET slot that Disney’s streaming shows had previously been attached to. While it’s still to early to know exactly how big of a difference the new time slot will make, anecdotal evidence suggests that fans are much happier not having to wait until the middle of the night to catch their favorite show.
Loki Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius, Hunter B-15 and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie, Judge Renslayer, Miss Minutes and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.
The Season 2 premiere of Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Loki is now just 3 weeks away and, as such, hype is starting to build. While the pre-show build-up looks a little different as ongoing strikes by the SAG and WGA unions keep talent from their usual rounds on talk shows and websites, fans are still looking forward to the further adventures of the God of Mischief and one of the most pressing questions for these series is, apparently, runtime. Now thanks to a solid source, fans know what to expect from the first episode of Season 2!
Cryptic HD Quality, who has repeatedly come through with accurate reports on the runtimes of shows such as Ahsoka, Secret Invasion and more, has revealed that the first episode of the sophomore season of Loki will clock in at 45 minutes.
As usual, the account has broken the runtime down to reveal just how much time will be spent on action and how much on the credits and it looks like fans will get a relatively short 39-minute premiere episode. Of course, that’s plenty of time to make a great episode of TV. Some of the episode will surely be spent catching up a bit before jumping into the main plot of Season 2 so it’s possible that fans will have to wait until the second episode to really see the new season kick into high gear.
Marvel Studios has been shifting quite a few of its release dates as of late. While they certainly are going to for all projects that have yet to finish, it seems they also decided to map out some of their TV shows that were set to release on Diseny+ in the coming months. The biggest surprise is that Echo was pushed back (again) to a January release date even though it was previously slated for November 29th.
What If…? is going to be released on Christmas Day, which is our first confirmation as it was initially going to be released in 2023. So, it’ll be the only other show releasing this year besides Loki later in October, which is already being heavily advertised by Marvel Studios. X-Men ’97 also seemingly is getting a release timing, as it is set for early 2024 after initially planned to release later this fall. Season 2 of the series is already in the works.
Ironheart is off the schedule for now, as it seems it is affected by the strikes. The same goes for Daredevil: Born Again and Wonder Man, which had to pause in the middle of production. The big surprise is that Agatha: Coven of Chaos is getting another new name, this time Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. It initially was announced with the title Agatha: House of Harknes and is now set to release on Halloween next year.
With the recent news that Marvel Studios had once again reshuffled their streaming slate, fans have just one more live-action adventure to look forward to on Disney Plus in 2023. The good news, however, is that it’s the second season of what was undoubtedly one of the studio’s strongest beginning-to-end streaming series to date: Loki!
With a strong core cast returning and Season 1 writer Eric Martin taking over as showrunner, Season 2 of Loki should prove worthy of the lofty expectations fans have for it. While it certainly has some heavy lifting to do in terms of furthering the ongoing narrative of the Multiverse Saga–especially filling in some more of the background of its big bad, Kang–the second season also promises more of what made the first season so great: the bromance between star Tom Hiddleston’s redeemed Loki and Owen Wilson’s Mobius.
With Season 2 of Loki slated to premiere on Disney Plus on October 6th, it’s time to start your rewatch and, as always, we’ve prepared THE only resource you’ll need to get you started.
Tier One
Tier One projects are non-negotiable essentials to be watched/re-watched before streaming Season 2 of Loki. If you want to understand what’s happening, these two projects–listed in chronological order– are all you truly need.
Loki Season 1
Since first appearing in 2011’s Thor, Tom Hiddleston has curated one of the MCU’s most enduring and beloved characters in Loki; however, one of the most interesting and certainly most important things to remember while watching Season 2 of Loki is that this iteration of the character, for the most part, isn’t the one fans got to know so well through his five film appearances. This Loki is a Variant–Variant L1130, to be exact–created when Loki escaped with the Tesseract during the Battle of New York during the Avengers’ time heist. While an argument could be made, then, that Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012) could be included in Tier One, those projects don’t seem to have a significant amount of influence on the streaming series so for folks who need their rewatch to be short(ish) and sweet, those can probably be avoided.
Of course, Loki isn’t just the story of Hiddleston’s Loki Variant but also the wonderfully spicy L1190 Variant, Sylvie Laufeydottir, played by Sophia Di Martino. It was her actions, after all, that allowed the timeline to branch and create the Multiverse and set the MCU on the path toward Secret Wars. Her relationship with Loki Laufeyson was one of the most interesting aspects of Season 1 and she once again plays a massive role in Season 2. There are also the to-be-continued stories of Wilson’s Mobius, Wunmi Mosako’s Hunter B-15 and Gugu Mbatha-Raw‘s Ravonna Renslayer (please give her something more to do) that will play a role in the sequel season as well. And, of course, there’s Jonathan Majors‘ incredible debut as He Who Remains which provides as much insight into the Multiverse and the Multiverse Saga as anything so far. There’s just no way you can watch Season 2 without at least refreshing yourself on the highlights on Season 1!
Jonathan Majors‘ Kang Variants haven’t really accomplished too much onscreen just yet but relative to what Thanos got done at the same point in time in the Infinity Saga, the new Saga’s big bad has the edge. The death of He Who Remains in Season 1 of Loki allowed for Kang the Conqueror to menance Scott Lang, the Ant-Family and the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and his death (or disappearance) at the hands of those allied forces put the Council of Kangs on watch. When the Multiverse Saga is all said and done, Kang is going to play/will have played a key role which makes Quantumania must. The film also helps to get an understanding of how the MCU’s Multiverse works and with how little we actually know, it’s worth it for that alone. Additionally, at least one more Kang Variant, Victor Timely, is known to appear in Loki Season 2 and their are rumors that He Who Remains will find his way back into the mix. It’s possible other Variants will pop up, too, and it’s also very likely that the Conqueror plays some role as well.
Tier Two
As mentioned, these three films are the prelude to the opening of Season 1 of Loki. As such, they certainly inform who the character is when he’s apprehended by the TVA’s Minutemen in the Gobi Desert. That Loki underwent significant character development in Season 1 but it’s still worth your time to revisit these projects if for nothing else than to enjoy Hiddleston’s devilish performances as the God of Mischief.
Thor
After originally auditioning for the role of Thor, Hiddleston accepted the role of Loki after Chris Hemsworth was named as the God of Thunder…and Marvel fans everywhere have benefitted from it for over a decade. While it took Hemsworth a couple of projects to grow on fans as Thor, Hiddleston owned the role of Loki right away. While Thor may not be at the top of everyone’s rewatch lists, simply ask yourself what the MCU would have been without it and then sit down and enjoy.
Avengers
By the time Loki arrived on Earth in the opening of 2012’s The Avengers, Hiddleston’s legend had already taken on a life of its own…and it grew greater as the Prince of Lies became the driving force for the Avengers to assemble for the first time. While he ultimately found himself on the business end of one of the MCU’s most memorable beatings, he was still a dirty, rotten scoundrel with designs on fulfilling his glorious purpose.
Avengers: Endgame
Endgame is always worth the rewatch but in this case it provides the Nexus Event that allows for the divergent timeline on which the events of Season 1 of Loki took place to be created. While you really only need to rewatch the film’s retelling of the Battle of New York, feel free to relive one of the MCU’s greatest films in its entirety.
Tier Three
These six Tier Three projects are unlikely to have much of anything to do with the plot of Season 2 of Loki; however, if you’re a completist, you’re going to want to do all of your relevant homework!
The first three projects on the list complete the story of the redemption of Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson who ultimately died at the hands of Thanos. They also give you an opportunity to see Hiddleston fully inhabit the character in some of his best work.
Thor: The Dark World
Admittedly one of the toughest films to rewatch in its entirety, it’s no fault of Hiddleston; if anything, he makes it watchable. The Dark World begins to truly dive deeply into who Loki is and what is motivations are, creating a version of the character that you love, hate, trust and fear all at once.
Thor: Ragnarok
Like everyone else, Hiddleston was having a lot of fun in this one and gave one of his most complete performances as Loki. Ragnarok gave Loki a chance to be the god and hero he always longed to be…but Loki’s gonna Loki and by taking the Tesseract, he sealed his own fate.
Avengers: Infinity War
As painful as it might be to watch Loki have his godly neck snapped by Thanos, it’s one of the most important deaths in the entirety of the MCU. Audiences learned quickly that Thanos was a threat to be taken seriously and Thor was given all the motivation he needed to avenge his newly-redeemed brother’s death.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Eh…it talks about the multiverse.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Though this movie doesn’t reference any of the Loki Variants, it does introduce the idea of Incursions and it’s likely that idea will be revisited or further explored in Season 2.
What If…?
Season 1 of Loki created the Multiverse in which the stories told in What If…? exist and Loki features as major character in one of the series’ most interesting episodes. The series also gave fans a look at Loki fully realized in all his frost giant glory, something that after being teased briefly in Thor was never really addressed again. So rewatch the entire season or just the episodes with Loki, if you want, but don’t leave these animated stories off your list!
Even as it becomes increasingly unlikely that Marvel Studios meets its previously slated 2024 release dates as the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes begin to knock down some dominoes, rumors about the future of the MCU continue to swirl. One such rumor indicated that Marvel Studios is contemplating an adaptation of Time Runs Out, a 20-issue comic book event published in 2014 and 2015, for the plot of the third Doctor Strange film. Written by Jonathan Hickman, Time Runs Out served as a prelude to his 2015 Secret Wars and capped his long run on Avengers and New Avengers titles. With Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga set to end with Avengers: Secret Wars, it seems sensible that the studio would turn to the comic book prelude to Secret Wars for inspiration; however, for a studio that’s already losing connectivity with its fanbase, it might be best for them to stay clear of borrowing anything but the title for Doctor Strange 3.
What is Time Runs Out?
In 2012 and 2013, Jonathan Hickman took on one of his most ambitious Marvel Comics projects. Working across both the Avengers and New Avengers titles, Hickman laid the groundwork for a new iteration of Secret Wars. Hickman, through Reed Richards “Everything Dies” speech, introduced the idea of the contraction of the Marvel Multiverse through incursions, an eight-hour timeframe in which parallel Earths collide with one another. Those collisions cause the destruction of both universes and, over time, only two universes remained: Earth-616’s, the original Marvel universe, and Earth-1610’s, the Ultimate Universe.
Time Runs Out tells the story of the final eight months before the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. It is a vast that includes high-profile members from across the Marvel universe such as the Avengers, the Illuminati, the Cabal, the Fantastic Four, members of the Future Foundation, the Shi’ar Empire, Doctor Doom and more. As a member of the Illuminati, Doctor Strange played a pivotal role in the event. Though a prelude to Secret Wars, Time Runs Out was also the culmination of nearly 60 issues of storytelling by Hickman and required every inch of runway to make it work. As is often the case with Hickman’s work, Time Runs Out included high-concept science fiction and complicated real-world science and, as is often the case with Hickman’s work, it wasn’t for everyone.
Why Should the MCU Steer Clear of Adapting Time Runs Out for Doctor Strange 3?
Before answering the question, it’s worth pointing out that if Marvel Studios does choose to move ahead with Doctor Strange: Time Runs Out, the film adaptation will likely only borrow the title and a few plot points and/or characters from Hickman’s work…and that’s for the best.
An Incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely.
Reed Richards explains incursions to Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
As of now, incursions are the only thing the MCU has in common with Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers and that’s in name only. Whereas in the comics incursions are just part of the natural order of things, though sped up a bit by the untimely end of one alternate Earth, as once again explained by Reed Richards, the MCU’s incursions are–maybe–the result of too much traveling between alternate Earths in the multiverse and, so far, pretty much all caused by different Doctors Strange. Want to destroy an alternate Earth? Just travel to it and hang out there and you’ve got it done.
The decision to make incursions the results of choices made by characters rather than part of the contraction of the multiverse makes TRULY adapting Time Runs Out impossible. The whole point of Time Runs Out is to put the heroes up against the clock as they try to find a way to stop the incursion that will wipe out their Earth. As more incursions happen, they learn more and more, including how to prevent one. According to the present rules of the MCU’s multiverse, that entire scenario isn’t viable. Incursions are super easy to avoid: just stop traveling the multiverse. And what happens when there are only two Earths left, like in the comics? Why are the heroes and villains of each Earth fighting each other at that point? To keep each other from traveling to each other’s Earth? It seems like moving forward in the MCU, an incursion will probably be an intentional tool of destruction.
In the Time Runs Out comic book event, Stephen Strange actually joins up with a group of powerful beings, The Black Priests, who were actually all in on intentionally destroying other universes. By deleting a few intrusive Earths, The Black Priests hoped they would stabilize the contracting multiverse. These same Black Priests are rumored to be part of Marvel Studios’ Time Runs Out adaptation and apparently one of them, Clea, has already appeared on screen. Clea’s goal: to fix the latest incursion caused by Strange’s trip to Earth-838. Black Priests fixing incursions rather than causing them (how can they be fixed, anyway?) would make them Black Priests in name only.
So what’s the problem with adapting Time Runs Out? Nothing has been earned. Nowhere near enough has been set up. And as has already begun to happen, general audiences are going to have a very hard time following the multiversal logic that causes incursions and how they can be fixed. Any true adaptation of Time Runs Out would need to include a significant amount of exposition about the origins of the multiverse and should include a much bigger team of heroes working on the problem. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the comic event was, as a reader, working through the problems in lockstep with the greatest minds of the Marvel Universe. Having Doctor Strange be the sole POV character for an event of this magnitude would not only be underwhelming it would underserve the enormity of the event itself.
While there’s plenty of reasons for Marvel Studios to turn to Hickman’s works as they approach Avengers: Secret Wars, trying to make an event that included dozens and dozens of Marvel Comics’ brightest and best into another Doctor Strange multiverse adventure (especially considering the lukewarm reaction to the last one) would be a mistake…and Marvel Studios can’t really afford another theatrical mistake in their Multiverse Saga. If they’re not careful, they are going to end up with a film, that like Hickman’s work, is not for everyone.
Within moments of its announcement at SDCC ’22, Daredevil: Born Again immediately became one of Marvel Studios most controversial projects. Though stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio had already reprised their roles from the Netflix Daredevil series, each actor seemed to have a different take on whether or not their characters were the same as those characters and with the series taking place during the Multiverse Saga, there are plenty of opportunities for them not to be. While D’Onofrio was pretty bullish on the idea that the Wilson Fisk seen in Hawkeye was the same guy from Netflix, Cox began to make people wonder after calling Born Again “a whole new deal” rather than a continuation of Daredevil, which ended after 3 seasons. Later, D’Onofrio’s tune changed a bit saying that the Disney Plus series is “definitely a new show” and “not the Netflix show.” When production on the series started, there were certainly plenty of set photos and rumors that really didn’t help clear up what Netflix fans should expect. However, with production now on hiatus due to the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, now’s a great time to look at some of those rumors and see what’s real and what’s imaginary.
Foggy and Karen
Easily the biggest hot button for Netflix fans is the idea that Daredevil: Born Again will take place without two of Daredevil’s biggest supporting cast members. Rumor has it that neither Foggy Nelson nor Karen Page will appear in Born Again…and that rumor is mostly true. While there’s still plenty of time for reshoots and additional photography to change things, neither Nelson nor Page are set to have any significant screen time. In fact, their absence from the series is one of the opening arc’s most important plot points. It’s very possible that Elden Henson filmed some scenes as Foggy but as far as the first arc of the series goes, those scenes are likely to be flashbacks or used to explain why he’s not around.
A popular rumor as to why the two supporting characters wouldn’t be in the new Disney Plus series was that it would be set during the Blip. In sad but true news, that’s just not the case. While there are a lot of flashbacks in Daredevil: Born Again, the main portion of the series is not set during the Blip (the fact that the PymvanDyne Foundation is seen in set photos disproves that) and that’s not the reason Foggy and Karen aren’t around.
Jon Bernthal’s return as Frank Castle gave another boost of adrenaline to an already highly-anticipated series. However, the character’s return immediately became steeped in controversy when it was rumored that it would feature the character taking on–and taking out–a group of racist cops who have misappropriated his logo. It ain’t gonna be pretty, folks, but it is in the cards. Hopefully, it helps rectify the horrid scenario that unfolded in his last appearance where he massacred a group of teens right before a touching tribute to Stan Lee came on screen.
Matt’s Love Interests
Always a lady’s man, Matt Murdock has had several lovers in and out of his life over the years. With Karen Page out of the picture and no sign of Elektra, rumors have not one but two of Matt’s comic book flames set for Born Again in Heather Glenn and Kirsten McDuffie and we’ve heard the same. Margarita Levieva is set to play party girl Heather Glenn while Nikki M. James will portray Kirsten McDuffie. In the comics, McDuffie’s relationship with Matthew was a bit of a slow burn while Glenn’s was a bit more short-lived. That’s probably why James’ contract came with options while Levieva signed a one season deal.
With the series set to run for 18 episodes, there are plenty more rumors out there to sort through at a later date! Daredevil: Born Again is currently slated for a 2024 debut on Disney Plus.
In late 2022, Deadline broke the news that SNL alum Sasheer Zamata had joined the cast of the WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Once shrouded in secrecy, plot details of the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series started rolling out pretty steadily once Zamata’s co-star, Patti LuPone, broke Marvel Studios’ well-known vow of silence. Rumors about the project–both legit and bogus–have been commonplace since including one about the identity of Zamata’s character. Now, in an interview with Mashable, Zamata followed LuPone’s lead and confirmed which witch she’ll be playing in Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
According to Mashable, Zamata will be playing Jennifer Kale, a character with some interesting connections in the Marvel Comics. The daughter of the leader of an ancient cult, Kale has shared adventures with some of Marvel’s most heavy-hitting supernatural characters such as Doctor Strange, Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch and recent MCU newbie, Man-Thing. Interestingly enough, she’s also been part of the Midnight Sons, a team that’s oft-rumored to be on its way to the MCU. However, according to Zamata, the MCU’s Kale might be a bit different than the one first introduced in the comics in 1972.
“I definitely did do as much [comic book] research as I could,” said Zamata, “but the way we formed this character is very different from what I think people expect.” As long-term fans of Marvel Studios projects know all-too-well, that could very well mean that the character is essentially an entirely original character who is simply borrowing a name from an established comic book character. Whatever the case, Zamata made it clear that the production took its witchiness seriously, calling her time on set “magical and ethereal.” “It brought that out of everyone on set,” explained the actress, saying “there were crystals and candles everywhere. We saged and cleansed the stage all the time. It was the perfect environment for me.“
Though Agatha: Coven of Chaos completed principal photography before the WGA and SAG strikes began, there’s still no firm release date for the project. While it’s expected to stream in 2024, it is believed that–like all MCU projects–it’ll need some additional photography and reshoots which won’t be able to be completed until the strikes come to an end. At this point, it seems like it’s now destined to be released at some point in the second half of 2024.
As Marvel Studios has rolled out its post-Endgame slate, it’s become more and more obvious that while there’s a plan in place that gets the MCU to Avengers: Secret Wars, the finer details of that plan haven’t quite been worked out yet. It would seem that there’s a lot of “that’s the next guy’s problem to solve” as projects are handed off from one team to the next (you can’t convince me that anyone knows if Kang the Conqueror is really alive or dead following the events of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania…and that’s just fine) but it’s not something that’s been talked about…until now.
In the latest issue of Total Film, The Marvels director, Nia DaCosta, and executive producer, Mary Livanos, both came clean on the subject. While they both admit that the story of The Marvels will result in something that the Avengers will ultimately have to deal with, they also make it clear that neither of them are quite sure what that will mean. And if those two–who know more about the film than anyone–don’t know…it’s quite possible nobody does.
“It definitely leads to plentiful opportunities for the future of the MCU, whatever the Avengers and Secret Wars teams may want to do with them,” said Livanos of the conclusion of The Marvels, which will see Kree villain Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton, look to unlock the full power of Kamala Khan’s bangle by reuniting it with its rightful paired partner. Though nobody’s saying it quite yet, those bangles sure seem like they might be the MCU’s versions of the Quantum Bands and may just have some sort of connection to the Multiverse Saga’s big bad, Kang. But do they?
“That’s a question for [Marvel boss] Kevin Feige,” says DaCosta of how The Marvels fits into the larger shared narrative of the Multiverse Saga. “I have lots of thoughts. But I actually have no idea what they’re going to do in the Avengers movies. I do know that those guys who are doing that watch the films, see what we’re doing. I have things I really want [to happen]. But I’m not sure.” And that means it’s the “next guy’s” problem which Livanos explained.
“The plot [of The Marvels] deals with some fluctuations in time and space, and there’s definite danger afoot that could affect the multiverse,” said Livanos. “Where it all leads is a bit of a spoiler, and exactly how it’ll all pan out in an Avengers movie is currently being figured out right now. But we’re definitely ending our characters in places that allow for plentiful opportunity.” Who is figuring it all out? At one point, it was definitely in the hands of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness, who was hired to pen Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but there have been relentless rumors that he’s since left the project after completing a portion of the script. Will the next writer start from scratch and get left solving whatever problem the ending of The Marvels leaves for the Avengers? Or will the ending of The Marvels become the next 616 Mordo and never be seen or heard from again?
As the first of Marvel Studios’ streaming efforts, WandaVision blazed the Disney Plus trail for the MCU and that wasn’t always a good thing. Matt Shakman’s nine-episode series was a wonderful character study of Wanda Maximoff but week after week outrageous fan theories led to outraged fans. One such outrage came when the obvious villain of the series, Agatha Harkness, was revealed to be the actual villain of the series. Kathryn Hahn was wonderful in the role and is set to reprise it in an Agatha-centric series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which is tentatively slated to release in 2024. The series has been closely followed by the very same fans of WandaVision whose uproarious online behavior made early 2021 so memorable and the rumor mill around the sequel series has been churning for quite some time. Let’s look at the most popular rumors and see what’s what.
The Identity of Joe Locke’s Character
One of the most ridiculous controversies around Agatha: Coven of Chaos centers around the character being played by one of the series co-stars, Joe Locke. While semi-obscure comic book character Nicholas Scratch became one of the most popular characters in the history of Marvel Comics overnight as people were led astray in believing Locke was set to portrary the weird wizard, that’s simply not the case. Locke is set to play Billy Kaplan, as we’ve believed since October of last year. That’s not to say Scratch have an impact on the series but he’s certainly not played by Locke and isn’t even expected to appear.
While it’s great that Wiccan is finally going to appear in the MCU, Locke’s Kaplan isn’t going to be an exact translation from the comics. In fact, the path the people at Marvel have chosen to explain how Billy Maximoff becomes Billy Kaplan seems incredibly odd on paper and may end up ruffling more than a few feathers. Whatever the case, Locke’s your Wiccan and will be paired up with Agatha over the course of the series.
Salem’s Seven
Not too very long ago, a plot summary of Agatha: Coven of Chaos emerged which indicated that the witches of Salem’s seven were out for revenge. As explained here, it’s not too hard to figure out what these witches have been holding against Agatha for a few centuries. Agatha’s lust for power put her in a bad spot and she responded by…taking more power and killing 8 witches, including her mother. That leaves 7 other witches whose descendants will be coming for vengeance now that Agatha’s hiding spot has been revealed to the world thanks to The Hex.
Aubrey Plaza’s Character
As was recently revealed, Aubrey Plaza’s Rio and Agatha have a LONG history together that will be explored in the series. Were they married? Not married? I truly don’t know but whatever the case, the two WERE lovers and did have a son (told you Scratch had some part in all of this). In the comics, Agatha Harkness is over 20,000 years old and while these two haven’t known each other that long in the MCU, their time together can be measured in thousands of years. While Plaza’s character seems to be an original character, her identity as the Green Witch could have been influenced, in part, by James Robinson’s work with the Scarlet Witch for Marvel Comics. In 2015, Robinson introduced the Emerald Warlock to the witchy world of the comics and while Plaza’s character is certainly not him, the idea of different witches tied to different colors is certainly a theme in Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Fans looking for a page-to-screen adaptation of Billy Kaplan’s origin story, The Children’s Crusade or James Robinson’sScarlet Witch series will be sorely disappointed with Agatha: Coven of Chaos as that’s just not what Marvel Studios does. Instead, buckle up for an original adaptation inspired by (parts of) those stories–and more–that while may be full of some weird choices has some very good performances and sets the stage for another project set in the same corner of the MCU…should it ever come to fruition given the absolute chaos in Hollywood and the climate around the TV side of things at Marvel Studios.
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Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
