Marvel Studios has released multiple colorful posters today promoting its witchy new WandaVision spinoff series, Agatha All Along. Let’s unpack them together.
First up is Kathryn Hahn returning as Agatha. In a previous Entertainment Weekly piece, showrunner Jac Schaeffer stated the series would be getting “a little squirrelly” with the definition of a “witch,” at least in popular culture, and so here we have our lead performing in a Fleetwood Mac-inspired rock band. As Schaeffer admits, the 1960s and ’70s influences may not be “abundantly clear” as far as the spooky theme goes, but Stevie Nicks does have those sorceress vibes. Plus, “we’re in ‘Season of the Witch’ and that kind of thing”—a song we’re very, very, very likely to hear in the series itself.
Next up is Aubrey Plaza as Rio, a “warrior witch” and member of Agatha’s coven. Surrounded by VHS tapes, cassettes, and board games, this 1980s analog horror-inspired poster is meant to evoke slasher films like The Slumber Party Massacre and Friday the 13th. Indeed, Schaeffer has promised an upcoming episode in which our cast is “dressed as ’80s summer campers messing with a ouija board in their bunk house,” and this one fits the bill.
By the same token, here we have Joe Locke as “Teen,” who’s heavily speculated to be Billy Kaplan/Billy Maximoff/Wiccan—a character from the comics reincarnated from a son of the Scarlet Witch. Harping on the same ’80s summer camp themes as before, this one adds an additional spirit dressed like one of Jason Voorhees’ notable victims—namely, Renée Jones as Sissy Baker shortly before her demise in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.
Here we have Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu, a “divination witch” dressed like Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. Note she’s holding a tarot card of “The Tower,” a Major Arcana meant to represent danger, crisis, higher learning, liberation, and unforeseen change. Note, too, the image sees her flanked by eight swords. In tarot, the Eight of Swords represents negative thoughts and victim mentality. We’ll see how that plays out in the series.
Next up is Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale, a “potions expert” with a long publication history in the comics. Debuting in Adventure into Fear #11 way back in 1972, Kale is a member of the Cult of Zhered-Na, a sect who foretold the destruction of Atlantis. Here, she appears to be waking up in a morgue ringed with circular lights. Neither is especially witchy, but it does evoke both medical horror films like Coma and alien abduction thrillers like Fire in the Sky. Food for thought.
Next is Alice Ahn as the “protector witch,” Alice Wu-Gulliver, a more recent character in the comics. The love child of a police detective and the elemental guardian of Hong Kong, Alice is seen here as a “hippie witch” of the 1960s. Note the zombie looming ominously behind her in the background.
Rounding out the main cast is Debra Jo Rupp as Ms. Hart. Wearing style meant to evoke “the coastal grandma chic” of late ’90s and early ’00s rom-coms like Practical Magic and Something’s Gotta Givewe see her reaching for a bottle of red wine behind the fissures of a cracked window. Alcohol addiction can also be a witch, apparently.
Another new poster sees Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha resting upon a pair of disembodied lips in an homage to The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s opening number, “Science Fiction Double Feature.” While there are absolutely no witches in that film, it could be another hint that alien hijinks are secretly afoot in Agatha All Along.
Yet another poster appears to homage the cabin in the woods from The Evil Dead series. Make of that what you will.
Our final poster sees the main cast at the mercy of an unseen puppet master, dangling over a pit of 22 upturned swords. In numerology, 22 represents personal growth, manifestation, inner peace, and positive change, so I’m sure our heroes will survive their series of “trials” and come out on the other side for the better… right? We’ll find out together when Agatha All Along premieres this September 18 on Disney+.
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