As production on Agatha: Coven of Chaos prepares to get going, the studio has revealed the talent in front of and behind the camera of the streaming series. Head writer and executive producer Jack Schaeffer will serve as one of three directors of the series joining Gandja Monteiro and Rachel Goldberg. Monteiro is coming off of her work on the hit series Wednesday while Goldberg worked on Netflix’s Resident Evil series and Peacock’s A Friend of the Family.
It was also officially revealed that Joe Locke, who is expected to portray Billy Kaplan, Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, and Sasheer Zamata joined the cast of the WandaVision spinoff along with Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Maria Dizzia. The newcomers join Debra Jo Rupp, Emma Caulfield, David Payton, David Lengel, Asif Ali, Amos Glick, Brian Brightman, and Kate Forbes, who were last seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in WandaVision.
The spinoff is slowly turning into an ambitious project that will definitely offer a curious look into the MCU. With the return of the Westview cast, it does seem like we’ll either see more of them than initially expected or they’ll simply have a short role before Kathryn Hahn‘s Agatha ventures out into the titular coven. As production is already set off to release next week, we’ll see what the next Disney+ entry has to offer.
WandaVision may have been one of the most theorized projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only was it Marvel Studios’ first venture into Disney+ and long-form storytelling, but its bizarre premise left many wondering what exactly are they building up to. While we now know that we’re definitely in the Multiverse Saga, the introduction of Evan Peters as a fake Quicksilver in the MCU left some fans a bit frustrated; ignoring the reactions to the meta Bohner joke for long-time sitcom fans. Yet, the recent development on the first spinoff series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, could be the spark to revive some old theories once again.
Keep in mind, we still know very little about what exactly the Kathryn Hahn-led Disney+ show has planned, but some of its castings are quite promising. The original title of the series was House of Harkness and hinted at further exploring her family tree. Yet, the project was suddenly renamed to Coven of Chaos, which opens up the possibility of jumping deeper into the supernatural world that Agatha Harkness resides. We assumed that the show might move away from Westview, the setting of WandaVision, but more and more castings hint that the place may remain important.
The recent announcement that Debra Jo Rupp, who is currently set to appear in the Netflix revival series That 90’s Show, will join the cast of the spinoff. In WandaVision, she played Ms. Hart, someone who was trapped as part of Wanda’s hex over Westview. Yet, her return opens up a lot of questions on why exactly she’d have a role again. She could appear in the story as a minor background character but why spend more time in Westview? Or, could she have a role in a different part of the story after all?
One of the most popular theories early on was that Emma Caulfield‘s Dottie was a witch just like Agatha. We knew that she was going to turn out to be the antagonist of the show, which led to us theorizing there must be more going on. Yet, Dottie never was connected with any story and simply ended up as a victim. The actress was one of the first returning actresses cast for the project. With Debra Jo Rupp‘s return as well, it almost feels like Agatha may have had a contingency plan after all.
When we last saw her, Wanda hexed her into a role that she was playing throughout the Disney+ series. Yet, she won’t likely be able to break free from her reality-altering powers so easily. Theoretically, she might be freed the moment Wanda is taken out during the event of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, or she has some help. It would be fun to find out in retrospect that Caufield and Rupp’s characters were part of the ruse this entire time. It not only adds depth to the events but also retroactively confirms many theories.
We still have no news if Evan Peters might also return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ralph Bohner, but there’s a lot of potentials to explore his character more. He was rumored to be the person that Randall Park‘s Agent Woo references in the film being part of a witness protection program. Perhaps he was her Plan B and the reason that she stayed at his house, or he may even be further connected to the multiverse than we at first assumed. With new Mephisto rumors also circulating online, who knows just how many theories from WandaVision may make a return, or could even finally be confirmed once Agatha: Coven of Chaos releases on Disney+.
Debra Jo Rupp (That ’70s Show) who had a small role in 2021’s WandaVision has been reported to have joined the cast of Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Rupp appeared in several episodes of WandaVision as Mrs. Hart, within the Hex, and citizen Sharon Davis when it was lifted. It’s presumed she will reprise her role as a citizen of Westview in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which will focus on Kathryn Hahn’s wicked witch. Rupp is the second actress who played a citizen of Westview in WandaVision to join the cast of Coven ofChaos, joining Emma Caulfield.
Originally slated for a late 2023/early 2024 release, Coven of Chaos was not featured on a recent update to 2023 projects, leading to the belief it has been pushed to at least 2024.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos has been steadily growing its cast throughout the last few weeks and they’ve now added one more. Deadline has just revealed that Tony winner Patti LuPone has joined the upcoming Disney+ series. She now joins Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Maria Dizzia, Sasheer Zamata, and Ali Ahn. We also have the returning Emma Caulfield Ford, who will once again take on the role of Dottie from WandaVision.
As per usual, her role is kept quite under wraps besides that she is playing a witch. It’s not surprising that we’ll meet a few witches in a story focused on the witch played by Kathryn Hahn with “Coven” in the title of its Disney+ series. The casting so far has been quite a on point and promises what may be Disney+’s wildest series.
LuPone marks a good sign that we’ll see quite a few musical elements in the series, which isn’t too surprising after the success that “Agatha All Along” turned out to be; hopefully also finds itself in the series’ title melody. She worked in musicals such as Evita, Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, and more. Of course, she also blended her talents into other projects like The Comedian, Wise Guys, Frasier, Penny Dreadful, and even Netflix’s recent The School for Good and Evil. So, It’ll be exciting to see what she brings to the table.
Aubrey Plaza has joined the MCU. The actress has landed an as-yet-unnamed role in the Disney Plus streaming series Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which will reportedly kick off production with a short stint in 2022 before really getting the wheels turning in January 2023. Though the plot of the series has yet to be revealed, it’ll feature the return of Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, who fans fell in love with in 2021’s WandaVision, and likely continue to flesh out the mystical corner of the MCU. With that in mind we decided to take a stab at which powerful magic user Plaza might portray!
Morgan Le Fay
Morgan Le Fay stands as the top choice for Plaza and, in all honesty, any other option will be a little disappointing. Morgan is one of the oldest and most powerful mystics in the Marvel Universe and, should Jac Schaeffer and the creatives behind Agatha: Coven of Chaos choose to use it, has a comic book history with something Agatha held dear: the Darkhold. In the comics, it was Le Fay and her followers, the incredibly creatively named Darkholders, who originally bound Chthon, the Elder God of Chaos who wrote the Darkhold, to Mount Wundagore. The potential connectivity to the individual and collective histories of both Agatha and Wanda Maximoff make Morgan a great choice for the show and Plaza seems a wonderful fit for the ageless, sultry sorceress.
Jennifer Kale
Though not a villain, Jennifer Kale is a prime candidate to show up in Agatha: Coven of Chaos for multiple reasons, her being a witch among them. Kale comes from a long line of family connected to the Cult of Zhered-Na. One group of cultists led by Jennifer’s father, held in their possession a collection of magical scrolls whose power may have been on par with that of the Darkhold. Kale also has ties to a number of mystical and magical beings in the comics including Man-Thing and a pair of Ghost Riders. Having a strong witch like Kale introduced in the series would allow the character to pop up again as Marvel Studios builds out that corner of the MCU. Plaza could fill that role nicely and set a few appearances on her schedule.
Satana
Maybe the longest of long shots, but also maybe one of the most potentially entertaining fits for Plaza would be Queen of Hell, Satana. In the comics, Satana is a succubus and a human-demon hybrid fathered by the demon Marduk who believes himself to be the Satan. It doesn’t really matter what Satana does, what’s important is that she always has fun doing it. Plaza would knock this role out of the park, even if it’s a little hard to imagine this character in the MCU at the moment.
Natalya Maximoff
One interesting possibility that doesn’t necessarily fit the bill of “villain” is Natalya Maximoff, the biological mother of Wanda and her predecessor as the Scarlet Witch. Introduced in James Robinson’s fantastic Scarlet Witch solo series, Natalya is integral to Wanda’s journey along the Witches’ Road. While the legacy of the Scarlet Witch seems a little different in the MCU than the comics, it’s still possible to introduce the character and shine a little light on how Wanda came about her natural affinity for magic.
Lilith
A pretty popular choice for the villain role, Lilith, the Mother of Demons, is as powerful of a sorceress as anyone from the pages of Marvel Comics. She served as one of the main antagonists of a Marvel Comics mini-series entitled Witches that delved into some of the history of witchcraft in the Marvel Universe. She has produced an entire race of demon-spawn, the Lilin, who have long been at war with humans. Should Agatha: Coven of Chaos look to put a little more positive spin on Agatha Harkness, she could find herself and her coven up against Lilith and her children. Or, should they want to keep Agatha a little shadier, she could be working with them.
As with any list like this, there’s a better chance of Plaza playing a character who is not on it rather than a character who is. With filming set to kick off over the next couple of months, we can hope word or set photos trickle out that offer some clues as to who the talented actress might be!
Though no news of who he’d be playing in Agatha: Coven of Chaos came with the news that Joe Locke had been cast in the series, plenty of fans believe they already know exactly what role the young actor will fill. Cast as a gay, teen lead with a “dark sense of humor”, Locke seems as close of a fit for the aged-up version of Billy Maximoff as anyone out there. As with any casting, until official word comes from Marvel Studios, fans shouldn’t get too excited about the prospect of seeing their favorite character on screen and there are plenty of other characters Locke could be playing. However, one MCU actor’s Twitter activity is sure to fan the flames of Locke joining the MCU as Wiccan.
Actor Julian Hilliard, who played Billy Maximoff in WandaVision and Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, took to his Twitter account to further tease fans.
It’s likely, even possible, that Hilliard is in the same boat as every other fan and has no idea who Locke is playing. It’s possible that he was simply posting the GIF as a reference to Agatha: Coven of Chaos and not making any commentary at all on who Locke might be playing. However, when the actor who previously portrayed a character takes so quickly to social media to comment, fans will rush to conclusions, no matter how unlikely it is that the young star might know what’s going on.
As it stands, it’s likely that Marvel Studios will do their best to protect the identity of Locke’s character as long as they can and with Agatha: Coven of Chaos not set to hit Marvel Studios until late-2023/early-2024, fans may have to wait quite some time to find out if he is Billy or someone else.
It looks like it didn’t take too long to confirm the recent rumor of a Vision Quest titled spinoff of WandaVision. This marks the second continuation of that storyline besides Agatha: House of Harkness, which would later be renamed to Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Paul Bettany will, of course, lead the project and it’ll be another series on Disney+ with the writers’ room confirmed to open next week. Jac Schaeffer, the showrunner for WandaVision, is overseeing the project but it’s unclear if she’ll once again take on the role.
It also seems that Deadline got its hands on some first story hints, as they share that it’ll follow Vision on his path to regaining his memories and humanity. With the writer’s room only opening soon, there is likely only the base concept. There are also expectations that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) may also appear, which would add weight to her surviving the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It seems that while Vision Quest is the likely title, it’s been given the codename “White Vision” due to the version that was introduced at the end of WandaVision.
We played around with the idea of a spinoff back in March of 2021, especially with how it is perfectly set up to further explore this new version of Vision. It’s unclear how this might tie into recent events but if a writer’s room is coming together, it may take Armor Wars‘ place and potentially lead into that project given Vision’s ties to Tony Stark. We’ll have to see once more information comes out from the project.
When it was announced that Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha, who fans grew to love in 2021’s WandaVision, was returning to the role for her own solo series, fans were curious about the direction it might take. After taking a sound beating from the Scarlet Witch and having her powers drained, Agatha was punished by being turned back into the nosy neighbor version of her character and left behind in Westview. Even as the start of production on Agatha: Coven of Chaos draws near, word on the plot of the series has yet to hit the web, though some intriguing casting details have.
In June, a casting leak indicated that the Agatha-centric series was looking for an actor, 17-20, to play a gay, lead character. The character was described as being “witty” and “astute” with a dark sense of humor and also being a “bit of a fanboy.” Fans of Marvel Comics readily identified this character as Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan, one of Wanda’s sons seen in WandaVision. Teenage Billy was so much of a fanboy that he originally called himself Asgardian and styled himself after Thor’s look when he first entered into superheroing. While all the dots might not connect as to how an older version of Billy might appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Agatha’s interest in Wanda’s children as seen in WandaVision could be a plot point that would easily carry over into her series. And with Mephisto once again rumored to be headed to the MCU, it’s possible that the Master of the Realm of Lost Souls might have a hand in things somehow.
While the appearance of an aged-up Billy likely means that his twin brother, Tommy, will appear as well, there’s one more Young Avenger who comes to mind when Billy is involved. Where is Teddy Altman? Fans have expected the character to turn up for the past couple of years now, but he’s never made his way into any of the projects he’s been rumored to appear in just yet. However, another casting call might just indicate that fans won’t have to wait much longer.
In addition to the casting call above, a second casting call for an actor, 18-20, to play a gay male has made the rounds. The character is described as “a kind soul” with a “great sense of humor” who is totally in love with his boyfriend and has an athletic build. Could this be Teddy? With not much to go on in terms of descriptors, it’s impossible to say with certainty, but the descriptors that are given are very much in line with the way Teddy has always been characterized. However, connecting the dots back to the other description, which almost certainly is Billy, Teddy becomes a VERY logical guess.
If Agatha: Coven of Chaos does introduce teen versions of Billy, Tommy and Teddy, it lays the groundwork for projects such as the Scarlet Witch solo series, The Children’s Crusade and, ultimately, the Young Avengers. Just the introduction of Teddy alone would also erase the strange concerns that Skaar would be replacing him in the MCU, allow for a connection to Secret Invasion and open up opportunities to tell more Kree-Skrull War stories down the road. With production on Agatha: Coven of Chaos set to begin early next year, casting announcements may soon reveal the true identity of these characters, giving fans something to look forward to in the somewhat near future.
With the release of Werewolf By Night, Marvel Studios has given us yet another format in which to experience and further explore the MCU. Following feature films, one-shots, and TV shows, fans have now been treated to its first Special Presentation, with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Marvel’s second go at the format, just a few weeks away. And one thing is certain: if it ends up being as well received as Werewolf By Night has been, the demand for further projects within the same framework is bound to rise.
James Gunn has stated that his upcoming Holiday Special will be under 40 minutes in length and considering that Werewolf clocks in at around 48 minutes (not counting end-credits) the basic parameters for this kind of project seem to be fairly straightforward. Tv-episode-length with a higher budget, and a more concise and focused script than a feature film. Could this structure become the go-to format for Marvel Studios when it comes to their Disney+ content? As with many debates, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
Considering how most Marvel Studios Disney+ shows have been a bit lackluster, there is no doubt that there is still work to be done when adapting the MCU to an episodic format. The Special Presentation type of show does allow Marvel to keep its feature film formula—a formula that works more often than not—a bit more intact, but while that may serve particular stories, there is still much that can be gained by giving certain characters and storylines additional room to breathe by going the 6+ episode route. If anything, Special Presentations allow Marvel to have a sort of middle-ground between a feature film and a TV show, so that when the story does ask for a shorter runtime but still not garnering sufficient relevance for the big screen there is still a way to make it work. It wouldn’t be hard to picture a series like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier being developed as a one-hour tv special, telling the story of how both Sam and Bucky went from Endgame to Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts, respectively. The same case could be made for Hawkeye that, as FatWS, would take advantage of previously established characters to streamline the narrative, swiftly leading into the next project. WandaVision would perhaps be the exception since it took the episodic format to heart and made it intrinsic to its essence. As for all Marvel Studios series introducing titular heroes, along with their own set of side characters, from Moon Knight to Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk, the longer runtime provided by several episodes seems completely warranted. Taking time to properly explore their origin, in their own corner of the MCU, without all the noise provided by the evergrowing mob of characters that will eventually engulf them seems fair.
But while the story itself should be the main reason when choosing what format to go with, there are also more specific points working in favor of the new format. For one: talent availability. With the success of the Marvel formula, the franchise is either attracting A-listers to its key roles or turning unknown actors into household names. In either case, unless previously signed contracts so dictate, it will become increasingly hard to get the desired names to be completely available for the time that it takes to shoot the usual 6 to 9 episodes of a regular Marvel Studios series. By having the Special Presentation format available, the studios could keep production schedules shorter, stars happier, and probably even bring about a bit more of that Strange Alchemy that the Russo Brothersvalued so much (something that happens when characters who never interacted in previous projects share the screen for the first time) by making everyone’s schedule a bit more team-up prone.
There is also another issue, especially relevant when it comes to streaming services, that the Special Presentation format sort of bypasses, not on its own but due to the sheer volume of premium original Disney+ content. The importance of keeping active subscribers all-year round is a big reason for investing in episodic series to be a good business model. But since Disney+ already has other equally massive franchises that are aiming at pumping out content frequently, there is no reason for Disney, when looking at the bigger picture, to not be ok with a few Marvel shows becoming glorified one-shots and not having to drive online discourse for several weeks since there are other shows that will keep subscribers busy for that same period.
What is perhaps a bit more dubious, but that could actually be a reality, is what the shorter runtime (when compared to a TV series) might do in terms of rewatchability and how that relates to the ease with which Marvel properties have been able to enter the cultural zeitgeist since 2008. For years Marvel Studios made…movies. Fans had to wait months in-between projects and what did they do when a new one was about to premiere? They rewatched the previous ones. And with that, everything about the movies permeated the discourse, from the biggest set pieces to the smallest of dialogue lines. It feels difficult for the same thing to happen when instead of 120 minutes that can be easily experienced over, and over again, fans have to sit through double that same amount of time, especially when there is always something new coming right up. By trimming the actual minutes of content being released, Marvel might be doing themselves a favor since instead of trending due to having constantly something new out, they might give fans the pause to reconnect with the material in a way that’s way more sustainable in the long run, thus imbuing Marvel Studios projects with what made them relevant to begin with.
As for what the future holds for the Special Presentation format, only time can tell. But things are seemingly on the right track for it to become an MCU staple on Disney+.
After being one of the more mysterious upcoming projects for Marvel Studios, new information is beginning to arrive for Agatha: Coven of Chaos. After playing Sarah Proctor (aka Dottie in the sitcom-based pocket dimension) in WandaVision, Emma Caulfield will be reprising the role for the upcoming Disney+ series. Caulfield’s return seems to indicate at least a partial focus on the sitcom aspects of WandaVision.
Ever since it was revealed in late 2021 that Kathryn Hahn’s fan-favorite would be the focus her own series, much has been asked in terms of what might transpire. This is especially of note with Agatha Harkness not having a wealth of comic-source material. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to build its Multiverse Saga, it will be interesting to follow what could be gleaned from Agatha: Coven of Chaos and this corner of magic into the larger overarching narrative of Phase Five and beyond.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos is being written by Jac Schaffer, of WandaVision fame, as part of her overall deal with Disney Television Studios. Announced at SDCC ’22, production is expected to begin on the series in early 2023 with a late-2023/early-2024 streaming window.
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