There is something innately queer about witchcraft that makes Agatha All Along alluring.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been slowly but surely building its LGBTQ+ répertoire, with characters like Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) representing bisexuals in the Thor and Avengers franchises, and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) playing a key role as one-half of the first same-sex married couple in The Eternals.
The main cast of the WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along features a talented group of stars who either identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community or are strong allies. The cast includes popular Heartstopper actor Joe Locke who is slated to play “Teen,” a gay character who avid fans believe is actually Billy/Wiccan–Wanda and Vision’s son. Locke will be joined by Aubrey Plaza, who identifies as bisexual, Patti LuPone, a beloved gay icon, and let’s not forget veteran actresses Kathryn Hahn and Debra Jo Rupp. Rounding out the cast is comedian Sasheer Zamata who shares with Pink News, “I do think there’s a lot of queerness in witches,” speaking about the similarities of finding your community and being uniquely different; she adds, “The reason that you are different is the reason that you’re special.”
Related: Joe Locke Discusses Embracing Depth Beyond Just Being a Gay Character
It shouldn’t be a surprise that a show about witches would draw inspiration from movie classics such as The Wizard of Oz, The Craft, Hocus Pocus, and so much more with each episode having “a different classic horror/thriller film that it is basing itself off,” according to Joe Locke. Towards the end of WandaVision, we see how the series develops into a darker theme in comparison to the bouncy and retro nature that was prominent at the beginning. Agatha All Along is expected to be Marvel’s darkest attempt with comparisons to The Craft made by Aubrey Plaza, telling Total Film:
“That movie [The Craft] gets hardcore scary, and what’s cool about Agatha is it really rides the line. There are times when it’s really funny and almost has this campy quality, but then there are times that it just gets really dark and grounded and scary.”
Joe Locke, who is slated to play mystery character “Teen,” even shared that there are references to allegedly cursed-movie Rosemary’s Baby and the Exorcist. Kathryn Hahn even adds that elements of “practical magic” on the show may have been inspired by Poltergeist. On the contrary, the cast have also gone on to referencing campier, but a little bit more kid-friendly Halloween classics like Hocus Pocus, E.T., and The Goonies.
One thing’s for sure—Agatha All Along is shaping up to be a whole lot of fun. Don’t miss the series premiere on Disney+ starting September 18, with new episodes every Wednesday. And here’s a challenge: see if you can spot the references to your favorite horror movies. Be sure to comment below when you do!
Sources: Total Film, The Pink News, PLAYBILL