Production on Agatha: Darkhold Diaries is underway, and Marvel has released a preview giving us a tantalizing glimpse of what’s in store for Agatha and her coven. Now, with the preview online, we can pore over it for clues!
Marvel’s first Disney+ series WandaVision had a lot going for it, but one of the best things about the series was Kathryn Hahn’s portrayal of Agatha Harkness, a charismatic but malevolent witch who tries to steal Wanda’s power. Agatha fans everywhere celebrated Marvel’s announcement that Hahn would be starring in a spinoff series, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (formerly titled Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and Agatha: House of Harkness before that).
Let’s take a look at the preview!
So what does the preview reveal?
First off, we see Agatha in her new costume: an updated, more modern-looking version of her purple dress from WandaVision. However, we also see her in a couple of her Westview looks, including her ’80s-era workout leotard. The sets seem to be new, though, so it’s possible the show may reveal more of Wanda’s hex from WandaVision. After all, when WandaVision ended, Agatha was still caught in Wanda’s spell.
We also see some hints of Agatha’s coven. The preview begins with a neon sign for a psychic, which could be Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu (more on her below). Later, we see LuPone herself, along with Joe Locke and other cast members, walking along a cobblestone path in a forest with Agatha. Some Marvel fans have speculated that the road could be the Witch’s Road from Marvel comics, which is an alternate dimension only accessible to magic users.
Here’s everything else we know about Agatha: Darkhold Diaries!
The Agatha: Darkhold Diaries release window
At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Kevin Feige announced Darkhold Diaries‘ release window as part of its Phase 5 slate and gave the series a release window of late 2023 or early 2024. Filming for the series began in earnest in January 2023, and in June, cinematographer Jon Chema posted an Instagram story showing pictures from a wrap party, showing that principle photography had concluded. Although the story isn’t up anymore, multiple fans took screenshots.
However, in February 2023 Feige told EW that Marvel would be spacing out its Disney+ shows “so that they can each get a chance to shine.” In September 2023, Marvel announced that Darkhold Diaries would be premiering in fall 2024.
Who’s in the Agatha: Darkhold Diaries cast?
Thanks to several casting announcements over the past few months, the coven is coming together!
First off, we know that Kathryn Hahn will return as Agatha Harkness. Also, in October 2022, Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) confirmed in an interview with Vanity Fair that she’ll be reprising her role as Dottie, the snobby neighbor who’s actually under Wanda’s control. In January 2023, Deadline announced that Debra Jo Rupp, who played Mrs. Hart in WandaVision, would also be reprising her role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, WandaVision cast members David Payton, David Lengel, Asif Ali, Amos Glick, Brian Brightman, and Kate Forbes will also be appearing in Darkhold Diaries.
Broadway legend Patti LuPone (Beau is Afraid, Steven Universe) is playing a 450-year-old Sicilian witch named Lilia Calderu who reads tarot cards and, according to LuPone, “is really hot.” According to remarks LuPone made to EW, Lilia is in a coven with Agatha and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation)’s character.
Joe Locke (Heartstopper) has also joined the cast, and although we don’t know who he’ll be playing, he looks an awful lot like a grown-up version of Wanda Maximoff’s son Billy. This has led to speculation that he’ll be playing Billy Kaplan, a reincarnated version of Billy who goes by the superhero moniker Wiccan. However, in her EW interview, LuPone called Locke’s character a “familiar” (that is, a helper or servant to witches).
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting several more cast members: Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Sasheer Zamata, Eric André, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Okwui Okpokwasili.
Aside from those announcements, there’s been plenty of speculation on who might appear in the series. In fall 2022, Murphy’s Multiverse revealed a casting call that included an athletically built 18-20 year old “kind soul” who loves his boyfriend. Fans believe this character could be Teddy Altman, a.k.a. Hulkling, since Teddy and Billy are boyfriends in the comics. A rumor has been circulating that Gutierrez-Riley could be playing Hulkling, but this rumor has been disputed.
Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, The Dictator) is rumored to be playing the Marvel villain Mephisto in both Ironheart and Darkhold Diaries. However, Mephisto rumors tend to run wild when it comes to the MCU, so viewers should take these rumors with a huge grain of salt.
Finally, Elizabeth Olsen said during an interview at SXSW that she thinks she’ll return as Wanda Maximoff in Darkhold Diaries. Is she right? Marvel hasn’t confirmed it, but Olsen seems confident that it’s happening. Wanda could be resurrected, or she could appear in a flashback (remember that we see Agatha in Westview in the preview video above).
Is there an Agatha: Darkhold Diaries trailer?
There’s no trailer yet, and there probably won’t be one for awhile. Sorry, Agatha fans.
Agatha: Darkhold Diaries plot: what is the show about?
When Agatha: Darkhold Diaries was first announced, there was some speculation that it might be a prequel to WandaVision—after all, Agatha is at least several hundred years old. However, set photos of a shopping mall (where Agatha seems to be grabbing a drink with Joe Locke’s character) and a police van, along with the new preview featurette, have confirmed that the new series takes place at least partly in modern-day Westview. Plus, with Dottie returning, the series is much more likely to pick up where WandaVision left off.
At the end of WandaVision, Agatha was trapped under Wanda’s control, doomed to play the part of nosy neighbor Agnes indefinitely. Now, it seems that someone—Lilia? Joe Locke’s character?—has perhaps freed her. Will Agatha search for Wanda and the Darkhold, only to find out that the Darkhold has been destroyed? Will we find out what really happened to Wanda on Mount Wundagore? Both of these questions could play into the plot of Darkhold Diaries—especially with Darkhold right in the title.
There’s also the matter of the coven itself. In an interview at last fall’s Chicago International Film Festival, Hahn gave fans a hint of what to expect.
In the video, Hahn says that it’s “very, very exciting” to be able to play Agatha in WandaVision and Darkhold Diaries. She goes on to say that “we’re getting the coven together” and “it’s going to be very delicious.” So who’s in that coven, besides Agatha, Lilia, and Aubrey Plaza’s character? Could Dottie become a witch? Is Lilia the coven leader? What’s the deal with Joe Locke? We’ll have to wait and see.
We’ll keep posting updates as we get them!
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
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