Summary
Agatha All Alonghas been a work in progress for ages, and now that the long-awaited spinoff is finally in the home stretch to release, the cast of the show have revealed one gimmick that their new MCU addition took from its parent series and used in a big way.
While its release date is still more than a month out,Agatha All Alongis a spinoff of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first big Disney+ project, Wandavision, from 2021. The titular character appeared as the antagonist of the Scarlet Witch’s standalone homage to vintage TV sitcom tropes and would become such an instant fan favorite that a spinoff show would be greenlit in short order. However, despite a relatively quick announcement and its main character already cast,Agatha All Alongquickly got classified as Marvel’s least necessary projectas the gap between the initial rush of support and the project’s actual release widened.
Despite the waning interest in the show due to the time gap, recent news seems to suggest thatAgatha All Alongreally could be the perfect horror experience for the MCU. Speaking toTotalFilmabout the upcoming series in an interview with the cast,Agatha All Alongstar Joe Locke explained that the show took inspiration from a ton of iconic Hollywood projects likeThe Wizard of Oz,going further to revealing that “every episode has a different classic horror/thriller film that it is basing itself off." Speaking on specific influences, Locke would say, “There are some great Exorcist references in there. Rosemary’s Baby was one of them. There’s so many. Also, The Goonies – that was the one for me. There was one day that Jac sent Kevin a picture of something, and he replied literally saying, ‘Oh my God, it’s The Goonies.’ So, that one for me was the big one.”
Locke’s co-star Aubrey Plaza would also chime in with some more additions to the list. “The Craft is one that I felt was really tonally coming through. That movie gets hardcore scary, and what’s cool aboutAgathais 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.” Agatha herself, Kathryn Hahn, whosemagically award-winningWandavisionperformancewas instrumental inAgatha All Alongmaterializing, had something to add as well. “There’s some Nancy Meyers in there,” Hahn explained. “There is, [as] for witches, some of the friendship of Hocus Pocus – the deep, sweet friendships – and also the terror of Practical Magic, of stuff like Poltergeist or E.T.”
All these sources of inspiration sound splendid and could really put the series over the top if they come through when audiences actually get to watch the series for themselves. If things don’t work out in the execution, thenAgatha All Alongcould end up having the same problemShe-Hulkdidby strongly projecting a genre piece that just didn’t fit the mold built by its advertising and promotion. While the crime of having too much comedy and super-powered antics to properly count as a legal comedy can be easily overlooked (especially sinceShe-Hulkcame out while it was still directly relevant), marketing a spin-off series three years in the making as a serious horror inspired project is a much higher height to fall from and could be disastrous. This is especially true considering the fact that MCU humor has never been known for its subtlety or respect for the general tone of the story.
It’s been clear for a while now thatAgatha All Alongpretty much needs to be perfect to succeed, given the current state of the MCU and just how long the series has been gestating since the wrap of Wandavision. While this is a pretty tall order, this goal could be within reach if the show really does manage to draw inspiration from all these great projects in the horror genre and really give fans a unique experience that can stand on its own merit. For now, fans can only wait and see how things play out when the show debuts on Disney+ in September.
Agatha All Alongis currently set to premiere for streaming on Disney+ on Jul 19, 2025.
