The world of Marvel casts a wide net, and within its own universe, fans can see supporting characters sometimes step into their own story. That rings true with ‘Agatha All Along’, which takes the character of Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) from Disney+’s hit show ‘WandaVision‘ and sets her on her own path over the course of 9 episodes.
Agatha is known in the universe as a villain, but with this series, audiences get to see different sides to her as she embarks on a journey to regain her powers.
“Generally at Marvel, there’s always a quest to have villains be not just one note. And Agatha is the ultimate example of that. She’s so complicated and has so many different dimensions, and is never about sort of world domination,” says director and executive producer Jac Schaeffer at a global press conference.
“There’s always something, like, personal and nefarious and complex. Which is where we sort of began with her. And then when Kathryn was cast, it became an everything-character. She was, you know, so incredibly funny and personable and sort of in the kitschy sitcom way. But then there was this huge scope of her voracious appetite for power. Kathryn embodied all of that. There was the small and the fun and the charm, and then there was the gravitas. And she’s a character that I feel like we can explore forever.”
Schaeffer, who created ‘WandaVision’, worked with Hahn during the 2021 show, and as Hahn notes, that history comes in to play with ‘Agatha All Along.’
“Working with Jac felt immediately sympatico in ‘WandaVision’. I just could hear the words that she had written down on the page. I knew the rhythm. I knew the tone, so it felt very natural,” Hahn explains. “I love this part so much. And so much of Agatha in ‘WandaVision’ was performance, I think she’s such a performer herself. We kept calling her a blooming onion. To see what was driving that underneath and [to] get deeper and deeper…of course, as an actor, you just want that stuff to chew on.”
Agatha is joined in the series by a cast of colorful characters including Aubrey Plaza as Rio Vidal, Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu, Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis, Ali Ahn as Alice Wu-Gulliver, Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale and Joe Locke as Teen.
“All I’ll say about my character is that you can expect the unexpected. You have no idea what’s gonna happen with her, and there [are] twists and turns and all kinds of shenanigans happening. That’s all I’ll say about that,” teases Plaza. “Kathryn and I were both on ‘Parks and Rec’ a long, long time ago, but we never really had any screentime. So, I was really excited to actually go toe to toe with Kathryn and get to sink my teeth in.”
Marvel isn’t the cookie-cutter action/comedy producer anymore either, and ‘Agatha’ helps propel that ideology. The show actually has its hand in a few different genres, blending horror, music and thriller elements along with the star-studded cast.
“It has a grab bag of different tones, which is so amazing. You know, we say it has music, but it’s not a musical. It has drama, but not a drama. Comedy, but not exactly a comedy. It’s all of those things. And that was all kicked off by Hahn who really embodied just absolutely everything in ‘WandaVision’,” says executive producer Mary Livanos.
“It has a really fun iterative quality. This time around, we are almost wholly practical. We’re recapturing sort of the golden age of Hollywood film- making like we did with ‘WandaVision’, but this time with fantasy and horror.”
That means, according to Livanos, utilizing miniatures, backdrops, and special effect elements to help enhance the world we see in a practical and hand-made way.
“When we walked onto the set, I think several of us burst into tears or started weeping. Because I don’t think, in my case, I’ve ever seen a more beautiful set in my life. And it was stunning,” says LuPone.
“And the labor. I mean all these individually painted leaves…it’s so much work. It’s really gorgeous,” adds Ahn.
Those who worked on the show say this series certainly stands out in the world of Marvel as well. And it doesn’t just come from the way it was shot or the genre-melding. It comes more so from the path Agatha is paving.
“When people watch the show, they should know there wasn’t a single green screen in sight on that set. Everything you see on camera was actually there photographed on the day. And I think you could feel it in the performances. It feels very tactile and very real and very grounded,” explains executive producer Brad Winderbaum.
“I would say the biggest thing about this show that sets it apart—Agatha never had her own comic book. This is an icon that Kathryn and Jac created on screen in ‘WandaVision’, and was so inspiring to all of us at Marvel that we had to continue her story. And I would say Marvel’s at its best when we bring these icons from the character to life and have amazing performers that bring humanity to the role.”
‘Agatha All Along‘ debuts on Disney+ Sept. 18.
