Agatha Coven of Chaos: A New Chapter for the MCU

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It was once viewed as too odd a project to launch Disney+’s serialized MCU era, but WandaVision proved to be a hit with audiences and critics, raising the bar for what was to come. Now the anticipated spin-off finally arrives, nearly a year later than expected. Disney+ debuts Agatha, Who Else But? on a Wednesday the 18th, elevating the meddlesome neighbor Agnes, played by Kathryn Hahn, into the role of a centuries‑old witch who becomes a central figure in a new antiheroine arc.

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“It wasn’t something they were thinking about when WandaVision was developed, or even right after it finished,” explains Jac Schaeffer, returning as creator and, in this project, directing three episodes. “Then Marvel invited me to develop another series, and we started talking about a range of concepts and ideas. Agatha was part of what we were exploring. In the end, Kevin Feige saw the evidence clearly: a series centered on Agatha was the right path. From that moment, we went at full speed.”

According to Schaeffer, what makes Agatha such a captivating figure isn’t merely her theatrical flair or star aura, but a hunger for power paired with a sharp, calculating mind. “You know she’s always five or six steps ahead of everyone. Audiences will want to come back week after week to see how she outmaneuvers any rival plan.”

Bound to Form a Coven

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Three years after the events of WandaVision, Agatha finds herself suddenly powerless after being freed from her prison by a Gothic teenager who keeps secrets of his own. As he reminds her, reclaiming her former self means gathering a coven and traversing the famed Witch’s Path, a treacherous journey rumored to grant wishes only when the end is reached. The very idea of teamwork unsettles the egotistical Agatha. “Having her form a coven was the best way to generate interpersonal conflict,” Schaeffer recalls of the writing. “It’s the kind of setup a writer dreams about, where the situation yields knotty tensions that can be unraveled later.”

In the magical give-and-take with the seer Lilia, the potion expert Jennifer Kale, and the warrior Rio Vidal, the lively, witty banter echoes the vibe of classic witchy tales like Eastwick and Practical Magic. “I was drawn to the macabre humor in that tone,” says Schaeffer. “The glamour of the Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock archetypes is aspirational in terms of hair, makeup, and wardrobe, and I also wanted to weave a sisterhood element into the show.”

The Ongoing Surprise

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Could this be the series that restores the MCU’s serialized reputation and, perhaps, the franchise as a whole? It remains playful and deeply satisfying much like WandaVision: each episode introduces a new setting and a new visual language. “The first episode feels like a homage to a specific genre, with clear nods to shows like Mare of Easttown, The Killing, and True Detective,” Schaeffer notes. “After that, I moved away from that homage to stay quick in the world and to probe new ways to preserve the sense of surprise.”

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One of Agatha’s great charms lies in the heavy use of practical effects, not CGI, but crafted by hand. “That was a lesson we learned with WandaVision,” Schaeffer recalls. “In the early episodes we used practical effects to evoke the look of the fifties and sixties, when those techniques ruled. We wanted the feel of Bewitched. We carried that idea into Agatha and pushed it even further. All sets feel real, and we used older techniques like matte paintings, minis, and puppets. On set, we were basically kids again.”

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