WandaVision may have focused on Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision, but there’s no question that Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness frequently stole the show. Initially depicted as nosy neighbor Agnes, Agatha used her own dark magic manipulate Wanda’s sitcom life in various ways, which culminated in a fight between the two. While the WandaVision series finale ended in a way that we could have easily left Agatha in the proverbial rearview mirror, the character has instead scored her own upcoming Marvel TV show.
Previously known as Agatha: House of Harkness and Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the now-officially-titled Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will see its title character venturing out of WestView and trying to deal with her new status quo. So with Agatha Harkness taking center stage looming on the horizon, let’s go over what we know so far about her TV show, starting with when we can expect it to premiere.
When Is Agatha: Darkhold Diaries’ Premiere Date?
Officially, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries doesn’t have a release date yet. Originally the plan was for the series to be released to Disney+ subscribers in winter 2023, meaning it would have followed shortly after the conclusion of Loki Season 2. Obviously that didn’t happen, and THR has heard that the plan is to release Darkhold Diaries in early fall 2024 as a lead-in to the Halloween holiday. That seems quite appropriate for a show focused on witches (more on that later), and since principal photography began in January 2023 and finished the following May, at least we can take comfort knowing Darkhold Diaries already has all its footage shot.
Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness Will Be Powerless At The Start
When we left off with Agatha Harkness at the end of WandaVision, Scarlet Witch stripped the witch of her powers thanks to placing runes around WestView, and also trapped her in her Agnes persona. Through circumstances yet to be revealed, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will see Agatha’s original persona reemerging, but she still won’t be able to access her magic. While presumably our main protagonist won’t spend the entirety of Darkhold Diaries without special abilities, it’s hard to say how and when she’ll regain the ability to conjure spells. I would say the show’s title tome might be involved, but all copies of it across the universe were destroyed by the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness… weren’t they?
Other Familiar WandaVision Characters Will Appear
Evidently a decent chunk of Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will see Kathryn Hahn’s character hanging around WestView, either against her will or because the town somehow holds the key to her regaining her magic. Whatever the case, we can look forward to plenty of the town’s inhabitants who were featured in WandaVision to pop their heads back up. This includes (including both their real names and their prior sitcom identities) Debra Jo Rupp’s Sharon Davis/Mrs. Hart, Emma Caulfield Ford’s Sarah Proctor/Dottie, David Payton’s John Collins/Herb, David Lengel’s Harold Proctor/Phil Jones, Asif Ali’s Abilash Tandon/Norm and Amos Glick the pizza delivery man who played Dennis. Additionally, Kate Forbes and Brian Brightman will respectively reprise Evanora Harkness, Agatha’s mother, and the Eastview, New Jersey sheriff.
Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone And More Are Playing Witches
Just because Agatha Harkness won’t start out on Agatha: Darkhold Diaries casting spells doesn’t mean we won’t see magic at work on the show. This includes The White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza playing Rio Vidal and Patti LuPone playing Lilia Caldera, both of whom are members of Agatha’s coven. However, it is worth noting that Deadline once said that Plaza was “believed to be playing a villainous role,” so prepare for the possibility we’ll see Rio and Agatha clash. Additionally, Sasheer Zamata is playing the sorceress known as Jennifer Kale, Ali Ann is reportedly playing a witch named Alice, and Maria Dizzia and Okwui Okpokwasili have been cast in undisclosed roles, per a different Deadline article.
At Least One Of The Young Avengers May Appear
Heartstopper’s Joe Locke has also come aboard Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, with his involvement being officially confirmed, while Miles Gutierrez-Riley has been reported to appear by outlets like THR. Officially speaking, neither of their characters have been named, though Patti Lupone did tell EW that Locke is playing a familiar, and Deadline previously described his character as a “ gay teen with a dark sense of humor.” Unofficially though, it appears that at least one of these actors may be playing a member of the Young Avengers.
Specifically, as a result of stunt actor Jamie Spears’ resume being shared online (via Murphy’s Multiverse), we’ve learned that Joe Locke is allegedly playing Billy Kaplan, a.k.a. Wiccan, who was originally Billy Maximoff, one of Scarlet Witch and Vision’s sons. Julian Hilliard first appeared as an illusory version of Billy in WandaVision, then later played a tangible version of the character from Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Assuming Locke is indeed playing Billy, there are obviously a number of questions that need to be answered, including how he’s become an actual human, why he looks so different, etc.
It’s also worth mentioning that Miles Gutierrez-Riley had been rumored to star in Darkhold Diaries as Hulkling, another Young Avenger and Billy’s boyfriend. However, per @CanWeGetSomeToast, at least half of this won’t be the case. While Gutierrez-Riley is supposedly still playing Billy’s boyfriend, it’ll be as an original character named Eddie.
Jac Schaeffer And Other Behind-The-Scenes WandaVision Talent Returned
It’s not just on-camera talent from WandaVision that’s returning for Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. As with the 2021 miniseries, Jac Schaeffer is the creator behind this spinoff, as well as serves the head writer, executive producer and lead director. Regarding that latter duty, Schaeffer helmed multiple episodes in Darkhold Diaries, including the first episode. The show’s other directors include Gandja Monteiro and Rachel Goldberg, with the former apparently having helmed the finale, according to Chelsea.com.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that WandaVision writers Peter Cameron, Cameron Squires, Laura Donney and Megan McDonnell also returned for the spinoff, as passed along by Movieweb and Variety. They worked alongside Laura Monti, Giovanna Sarquis, and Jason Rostovsky, all of whom have Darkhold Diaries listed on their directories on the Writers Guild of America website. Additionally, as McDonnell, who also co-wrote The Marvels, told Variety, she was also a consulting producer on this Marvel TV show by “providing writing and onset services.”
There’s still a lot left to be revealed about what Agatha: Darkhold Diaries holds in store, so continue visiting CinemaBlend for more updates on this, as well as the other MCU shows and upcoming Marvel movies.