The recently resolved WGA strike and the yet-to-be-resolved SAG strike have taken a toll on Marvel Studios’ streaming plans. Streaming series such as Daredevil: Born Again and Wonder Man were forced to shut production down which began a game of dominoes with the once robust slate of programming. Without a solid idea of when series would resume production, much less complete it, the studio began to reshuffle its plans to make sure consumers would have something to consume in 2024. As a result, Echo, a finished product, was bumped out of November 2023 and into January 2024 and other series’ release dates, such as those for Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Ironheart, faced some serious uncertainty. Now, as the future of production schedules begins to become a bit clearer, some clarity around the release of these projects may have gained some clarity as well.
According to multiple filings with the US Copyright office, originally found by @ScarletWitchUpd, Marvel Studios has begun to plan out their 2024 and 2025 streaming schedules a little more specifically.
While these dates must certainly continue to be taken as tentative for the time being, it seems the current plan is to release the first episode of Agatha: Darkhold Diaries on September 29, 2024, the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again in January 2025 and the first episode of Ironheart on September 3, 2025. The late 2025 release date for Ironheart comes as quite a shock considering principal photography on the series wrapped in November 2022 and a good deal of footage was shown off at D23 2022 in Anaheim.
If these dates should hold–or even be relatively accurate–it also speaks volumes about Marvel Studios plans for series such as Wonder Man and Vision Quest. As it stands, it would seem that neither of those two series would be on the books before 2026. Given the studio once had eight unannounced series (of which Wonder Man and Vision Quest were two) set to stream between the Fall of 2024 and the Summer of 2025 it will interesting to see just how much fat has been trimmed from the slate since Bob Iger returned.
In the wake of the widely panned Secret Invasion and the shuffling of Echo into 2024 and Ironheart into who knows when, Marvel Studios’ hopes for streaming success in 2023 rest squarely on the shoulders of the second season of Loki. While it’s foolish to judge an entire series by its first episode, if “Ouroboros” is any indication of what to expect this season from the creative team of writer Eric Martin and directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who previously teamed up with Marvel Studios on Moon Knight, Marvel may be able to rest easy.
“Ouroboros” comes out of the gate swinging. Opening in the moments immediately after the Season 1 cliffhanger, the episode quickly dismisses the most prevalent fan theory about where Loki ended up when Sylvie kicked him through the time door. Whereas the belief was that Loki was transported to an alternate TVA, the first quarter of the episode establishes that he has in fact been transported to the same TVA in the past…and what an interesting past it was. By grotesquely “time slipping”, Loki learns that He Who Remains once openly ruled the TVA before installing the Time Keepers and slipping away to the Citadel at the End of Time. Taken in concert with the recent revelations that all TVA employees are Variants who were ripped from their lives, the very foundations upon which they believed the TVA stood are now entirely reframed as the implications of He Who Remains’ actions become crystal clear. These people’s minds have been wiped repeatedly in the service of the TVA and anything and everything they think they know about themselves is just a fraction of their actual lives.
Once the episode moves forward under those implications, finding a solution to Loki’s time slipping becomes the central focus of the episode. Finding a solution to that problem leads Mobius and Loki to one of the second season’s key new members in Ke Hey Quan’s Ouroboros. The march to find OB, the TVA’s resident tech guru, not only allows for an exploration of some of the unseen nooks and crannies of the TVA but also time for the series’ marquee characters, Loki and Mobius, to shine. Much of the success of Season 1 came from the chemistry between the two and even under the direction of a new creative team, the pair continues to cook. Tom Hiddleston continues to be so wonderfully charismatic and catalytic as Loki which means that it’s nearly impossible for him to share an awkward scene with anyone and so as funny as his scenes with Owen Wilson continue to be, his split-time scenes with Quan’s OB are equally brilliant. By working together, Loki and OB come up with a solution to Loki’s issue but in attempting to solve that issue, the larger mystery of Season 2 is revealed.
In pursuit of curing Loki’s time slipping, OB discovers that the Time Loom, an object which he explains is used to refine raw time into physical timelines, has been overloaded as time broke free following the death of He Who Remains. The second half of the episode ends up being some of the MCU’s best hardcore sci-fi to date as it attempts to address the madness erupting in the multiverse. The back half is full of imaginative set designs and mumbo jumbo jargon (a dial on the ceiling keeps track of the chronons being emitted per hour) that allow for the audience to have some footing in what’s actually taking place. Sci-fi, time travel and mulitversality have never been for everyone but the writing team, lead by Martin, did an admirable job of making it palatable and as relatable as possible under the circumstances.
While “Ouroboros” solves Loki’s time slipping issue and resolves the Season 1 cliffhanger, it ends on one itself. In the absence of Ravonna Rennslayer, the headless TVA is now subject to the whims of an interesting group of folks led by General (Paradox), Judge Gamble and another fellow with all the energy of Ray Winstone’s Dreykov. Just as Loki is pulled back from the time stream, several brigades of Hunters are seen taking off through a series of time doors into the newly created branches in search of Sylvie. While her location is unveiled in the show’s post-credit scene, the actions of these Hunters and are sure to have some pretty heady consequences for the show and set up one of two ongoing plot points for the season.
Though in many ways it feels like more of the same (great writing, great characters and timey-wimey mysteries), the opening episode of Season 2 also gives the MCU something brand new. While Loki’s glorious purpose, established over a decade ago in the MCU’s timeline, seems like old news to the audience, it’s important to remember that this Loki Variant was plucked from 2012 where he only very recently attempted to kill the Avengers and sought to rule all of humanity. “Ouroboros” give this Loki room to grow into a new glorious purpose: becoming the hero of all time. From the moment he first appears on screen, Hiddleston plays the part with a distinct desperation we’ve never really seen. Even in the Season 1 finale, there was some hesitancy to become the hero but now, having been Lokied by another Loki, this Loki now seems fully committed to an all-new, all-different path. And maybe, just maybe, the sun will shine on Loki and his brother again at the end of it. If you thought there wasn’t room for more Loki in your life, “Ouroboros” did its level best to make you think twice and set up one hell of a first two-thirds of a season of streaming TV at its best. In an increasingly entropic MCU, Season 2 of Loki seeks to return order and remind us all what’s always been so great about this shared universe.
Though it’s undoubtedly at least partially revisionist, Marvel Studios has a history of success that seems strongly weighted by the Infinity Saga. The internet is full of talking heads who will tell you that following Avengers: Endgame, the MCU just hasn’t been the same and that the quality of the projects, both theatrical and streaming, has fallen off drastically. 2023 has added fuel to the fire with projects such as Ant-Man: Quantumania and Secret Invasion failing to impress the majority of fans–and even fewer critics–leading to an even louder refrain of “The MCU is dead” than ever before. Leave it to the ultimate agent of chaos and the most entropic entry in the Multiverse Saga to date to restore order to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The God of Mischief has heard your concerns and Season 2 of Loki answers them authoritatively.
Picking up directly where Season 1 left off, Loki quickly reframes what fans thought happened in the prior season’s cliffhanger and puts Loki up against the clock. As the MCU builds towards an adaptation of Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars, the first episode–and then again the first four–certainly have the feel of the Time Runs Out prelude Hickman weaved through his Avengers and New Avengers titles. While Season 2 of Loki is certainly no adaptation of those–indeed it seems not to be an adaptation of any particular comic run or set of stories but rather an original idea from the production/writing team of Michael Waldron and Eric Martin–the first four episodes are fast-paced, intense and make it very clear that time is running out for all time. Getting down to brass tacks, the premise of Season 2 is this: the death of He Who Remains has created a multiverse that the TVA simply is not prepared to manage.
Starting with but certainly not limited to that premise, it’s amazing just how often these first four episodes of Season 2 of Loki work as an allegory for the criticisms faced by Marvel Studios. As He Who Remains’ death allowed the timeline to break free and grow into something far too large and chaotic for the TVA to handle, so has the Multiverse Saga opened the doors to criticism about Kevin Feige and co. potentially adopting a quantity over quality approach with, at one point, 8 projects planned in a calendar year. The technological MacGuffin of the first four episodes, a Multiplier that allows the Temporal Loom to be able to collar and manage the new timelines, provides the impetus for Loki and Mobius to take a trip through time and allows for the introduction of Jonathan Majors‘ Victor Timely. As the buddy cop duo sets off to find a Variant of the man who built the TVA to restore it to its rightful status as a timespace behemoth, so has Bob Iger returned from retirement with a renewed focus on curating and managing projects and characters amid jeers that there’s simply too much content for fans to consume. And as an all-new, all-different Loki is mocked, reminded that he’s a villain, not a hero, and told to stick to what he’s always done, so too do the critics hammer away at Marvel Studios for breaking away from the “Marvel formula.” Much as the future of Marvel Studios seems up for grabs, the first four episodes of Loki’s second season end with a truly shocking cliffhanger that will leave fans suspended in uncertainty…but not before a return to form and a reminder of what these streaming series should be.
Like its predecessor, Season 2 of Loki allows Tom Hiddleston all the room in the Multiverse to explore the nooks and crannies of the title character. Hiddleston has filled the godly shoes for well over a decade now and as easy as it might be to question what else there might be left to do with Loki, the first four episodes–and Hiddleston’s continued brilliance in the role–provide plenty of answers. Keeping in mind that this particular Variant of Loki, Variant L1130, was created when he escaped with the Tesseract in the aftermath of the 2012 Battle of New York during a botched effort by the Avengers during their time heist, allows the audience to truly see the realtime (sort of, since it technically takes place out of time) evolution of the character. Not far removed from seeking to subjugate all of humanity, Loki now seeks glorious purpose in keeping them free and, as such, Hiddleston finds space for an empathic Loki who recognizes the true beauty and power of humanity–a truly heroic version of the character, though thanks to some fun plot devices is able to get back to some fun magical mischief.
However, Season 2 is not simply the Tom Hiddleston show. So much of what made Season 1 work so well was the chemistry between Hiddleston and his co-stars, specifically Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and, thankfully, a new creative team did nothing to change that. The Loki-Mobius dynamic is just as strong as always and the fractured relationship between Loki and Sylvie allows for an even deeper exploration of both characters. The brilliant addition of Ke Huy Quan as TVA tech guruOuroboros will rightfully draw plenty of praise as Quan is an absolute joy in his surprisingly extended role; however, don’t underestimate Rafael Cassl’s saucy X-5/Brad Wolfe who ebbs and flows throughout the first four episodes as an agent of chaos in his own right. Majors‘ brings a definite strangeness to Victor Timely, who isn’t exactly what you think he might be and returners Wunmi Mosaku, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tara Strong all get more to do to the benefit of the project as a whole.
As is always the case with pre-release screenings of Marvel Studios projects, critics and press have not seen the whole series which makes a true analysis of Season 2 of Loki impossible. Simply put, no matter how entertaining the first four episodes are, if the last two drop the ball, the project won’t be seen as a success and that’s not something Marvel Studios can afford at the moment. However, what can be said is that for four episodes, Marvel Studios leaned on one of their strongest and most veteran talents to put together what is unquestionably their best effort–theatrical or cinematic–not only of 2023 but of the entire Multiverse Saga. A combination of strong creative work behind the scenes by writer Eric Martin and the directing duo of Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson and an enormously talented cast make Loki a fun sci-fi mystery that will fill the Void-sized void you may have been feeling.
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.
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!
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 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.
Marvel Studios’ first canonical animated adventure, What If…?, introduced one of the most powerful and enigmatic characters in Uatu the Watcher. A member of a race of nigh omnipresent and omnipotent aliens, Uatu lived in the Nexus of All Realties where he was tasked with observing the Multiverse while swearing an oath never to intervene. That oath was tested and ultimately broken in Season 1 of What If…? when Uatu gathered a team of heroes, the Guardians of the Multiverse, to take on Ultron after the AI became aware of the presence of the Watcher.
That team, comprised of alternate reality versions of Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Thor, Black Widow and N’jdaka, took on and ultimately defeated the Infinity Stone-powered Ultron and Uatu returned to the Nexus of All Realities to await whatever came next. Now, thanks to a new trailer, Uatu’s next MCU appearance has been revealed and it’s certainly not what anyone expected.
During the trailer for Season 2 of I Am Groot, the Watcher was spotted overseeing the feisty sapling taking off in the Guardians’ ship. While rumors of his appearance in the show had circulated a while back, the trailer is the first confirmation of the surprising return of the character who is voiced by the talented Jeffrey Wright. What could Groot be up to draw the attention of Uatu? Will the events of Season 2 of I Am Groot be tied to the events of Season 2 of What If…? ? Answers to those questions will be answered soon as five new I Am Groot shorts will hit Disney Plus on September 6th!
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