Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer explains why the series has fewer MCU connections than the standard Marvel Studios project. Ever since the MCU began in 2008, its interconnectivity has been a major selling point for fans, and it has kept audiences engaged with the franchise. Disney+ series like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier directly set up Captain America: Brave New World, while She-Hulk: Attorney at Law tied into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again. Apart from direct connections to WandaVision, Agatha All Along has been light on MCU tie-ins.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer was asked how and why the series features less overt connections to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. THR pointed out that WandaVision referenced events that happened in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War before setting up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And yet, Agatha All Along feels like a standalone project. Schaeffer says this is due to Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) having only appeared in WandaVision and none of the films. They were given more freedom to put Agatha All Along into its own corner of the universe.

“There was less of that [ties to the MCU] on this show because Agatha hasn’t appeared in any of the features. We didn’t have the burden of retrofitting any canon. On WandaVision, both Paul and Lizzie [Elizabeth Olsen] had so much backstory in themselves and between each other (…) We also had the larger Scarlet Witch burden of the Infinity Stone and that kind of thing. Even with
WandaVision
, it was less about how it fits with future properties. We had some of that, but it was more, ‘How do we nestle this in what already exists and both enhance the story we’re telling and buttress the stories that have come before?’ It’s heartbreaking to disavow or tear down what’s already been established, and [upholding the past stories] was part of our work there. So we didn’t have that work in as big of a way on
Agatha All Along
because Agatha is her own bird.”

While the interconnectivity of the MCU was a main selling point, in recent years, it has become a bit of a curse and can turn some people off. Some feel as if the franchise is now too long and overly complicated to jump into. Years of continuity certainly hurt Star Trek to the point the franchise needed to reboot in 2009. Agatha All Along’s decision to downplay MCU connections seems to have paid off, as the series has become a hit on Disney+. The only entry audiences are expected to have watched the popular WandaVision, making it more accessible to viewers.

Agatha Might Be Important to the MCU’s Future

While Agatha All Along might have minimal connections to Marvel’s past, that doesn’t mean the series is not planting seeds for the future. In the fourth episode, “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You”, the character of Mephisto was name-dropped. Mephisto is rumored to appear in Ironheart, which will debut on Disney+ in 2025. The series is playing coy with the identity of The Teen, played by Joe Locke, yet many assume he is Billy Kaplan/Wiccan from The Young Avengers. Marvel has been building to The Young Avengers in projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Hawkeye, and The Marvels, with Agatha All Along being another part of the puzzle. Even though Agatha All Along might not have any overt connections to the MCU now, it might be retroactively established later.

Agatha All Along is also seemingly the middle chapter in a trilogy that Marvel is planning, which began with WandaVision and will conclude with the Vision series. There are many different plot threads throughout the MCU’s cosmic, street-level, and mystical franchises that will likely converge in Avengers: Doomsday, as the various heroes will need to battle Doctor Doom. Similar to the popularity of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who were brought in from their unique MCU corner into the larger Avengers storyline, the popularity of Agatha Harkness might bring her into Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The question now is, will Agatha stand against or beside Doctor Doom?

Release Date September 18, 2024 Cast Kathryn Hahn , Joe Locke , Sasheer Zamata , Ali Ahn , Okwui Okpokwasili , Debra Jo Rupp , Patti LuPone , Aubrey Plaza , David Payton , Emma Caulfield Ford , David Lengel , Asif Ali , Amos Glick , Elaine Valdes , Paria Akbarshahi , Chau Naumova , Bethany Curry , Athena Perample , Alicia Vela-Bailey , Britta Grant , Marina Mazepa Seasons 1 Number of Episodes 9 Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Expand