There probably wouldn’t be an ‘Agatha All Along’ without this inspired casting choice
Agatha All Along hits Disney+ today, but let’s not forget its origins. It’s probably fair to say that WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as Wanda Maximoff and Vision, changed the course of the MCU forever. It brought the franchise into the Disney+ era and was a massive critical success.
And there was one standout performance that blew everyone away: Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation, Transparent, Afternoon Delight) as Agatha Harkness. Agatha’s true intentions and even her true name are kept hidden from the audience at first. She starts off as “Agnes” the nosy neighbor, always popping into Wanda and Vision’s business and getting involved in the sitcom antics. Hahn deftly takes the audience through decade after decade of sitcom tropes, bouncing off Olsen as she does so.
Hahn’s performance is so good that we don’t want her to be the villain, even though WandaVision was obviously going to need one. She’s so funny and winning as Agnes! She’s great with Wanda’s children, she’s like their fun aunt, she can’t be evil! But at the same time, there’s something ever so slightly off about her, and that explodes into Hahn’s showstopping performance as Agatha in the episode “Breaking the Fourth Wall.”
In that episode, the villainess reveals herself with her own song, “Agatha All Along” which is of course where the new spinoff gets its title. And from then on it’s chaos—extremely fun chaos.
Hahn was clearly really enjoying playing the wicked Agatha and that shines through in her performance. So it’s no wonder the powers that be at Disney decided to give her a spinoff — and that’s something it’s hard to imagine having happened with a different Agatha actress.
And reviews are making it clear: even if you find nothing else in Agatha All Along, you’ll love Hahn’s performance. She’s truly cemented herself as one of Marvel’s biggest stars now.
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