Having delivered one of the most captivating and dominating performances of any 2024 TV show, Kathryn Hahn turned Marvel semi-villain Agatha Harkness from a recurring WandaVision highlight into a magical MCU cornerstone, and one that doesn’t need a corporeal body to succeed. Fans would love to see her back alongside Joe Locke’s Billy for Young Avengers or some other upcoming Marvel movie or Marvel TV show on the way, and Hahn’s own comments about the series are a testament to how much we need her.
Speaking with the L.A. Times, Hahn talked about her journey from early WandaVision conversations through to the end of her standalone series, and it sounds like a career experience like no other. Not just in terms of its bonkers twisting narrative and magic-infused storyline, but for the opportunities it presented her as an actress who was told in her 20s that interesting roles would fizzle out in her 40s. Speaking to the contrary, the Parks and Rec vet said:
By the end of the show, I would go into hair and makeup at the end of the day and be like, ‘Well, this is my last acting job,’ because I felt like I had a chance to do it all. But it really just reopened my hunger and love for performing. I do feel like this is exactly the part I’m supposed to play at this period of my life.
Given its representative and inclusive nature both for the MCU and TV in general, Agatha All Along has been a relatable and celebratory hallmark release for wide swaths of fans who yearned for more psychological story-weaving from Marvel and showrunner Jac Shaeffer. And it very much sounds as if Hahn was as joy-filled bringing the series to life as fans were to watch each week.
I'd be remiss if I didn't specifically highlight the notion that Kathryn Hahn spoke in the present tense: "...this is exactly the part I'm supposed to play..." The idea that she hasn't yet put Agatha in her rear-view mirror is as encouraging as anything else at this point, since it's obviously unclear when Kevin Feige & Co. will reveal where she'll turn up next.
The fact that Agatha can pop up again after AAA's finale is amazing in and of itself, especially since the character was effectively being killed off. And in the penultimate episode, too, as opposed to the actual finale. As fans remember, the ninth and final episode was less a conflict resolution and more of a backstory coda that added rich context to every episode that came before it.
Hahn praised that ending for being so nontraditional for the medium, much less for a comic book-inspired series, saying:
But I do know how proud we are of it and how subversive and radical it felt to have an ending, especially a big Marvel show, be that small and tender and have this little beating heart.
Thinking back to everything that played out with Agatha's son Nicholas Scratch in the finale, the phrase "little beating heart" is especially powerful here. I'm not crying or anything; I'm just going to grab a handkerchief to wipe an...eyelash...while jumping to the next topic.
Will Kathryn Hahn Return As Agatha Harkness In The MCU?
Quite a few MCU projects have been locked down that will help set up the impending mega-blockbuster ensemble films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but none of them are specifically tuned up for either Hahn's ghostly Agatha Harkness or Locke's powered-up Wiccan to return in. The hope is for Young Avengers overall, but fans such as myself are also hoping Billy's journey to find Tommy is handled episodically, so that they can be fully powered teammates as Young Avengers.
Addressing her potential MCU future, Kathryn Hahn could confirm nothing, but seems willing to get back into one of her career peaks if the future calls for it. As she put it:
Even though obviously now Billy/Wiccan is not her son, there is some sort of hope for her that she’s able to maybe do for him what she couldn’t do for Nicky. I think they do make a great team. Of course, I love this part and I love Joe Locke madly, and we’ll see what the future holds. In my mind, this was a beautiful and satisfying way to say goodbye to this incredible character I had to play.
As hard as it would be to say goodbye forever to the baddest-ass witch of all time, it's hard to argue against her initial farewell being perfect enough to last without the threat of tarnishing her legacy. Hopefully she'll pop up in the in-development Vision series that's coming, considering Paul Bettany’s thoughts on Agatha All Along were so positive.
While waiting to see what's conjured up next, Agatha All Along can be streamed in full with a Disney+ subscription.
