Hey Marvel, you up?
So, here's the thing: Jac Schaeffer. That's it. That's the tweet (now X post).
But seriously! As the creator and showrunner of 2021's WandaVision, Schaeffer brought out everything that fans love about the Scarlet Witch (a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff) in the Marvel comics, making sense of this character as a superhero and as a person. For years, the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe tried to introduce moviegoers to a powerful superhero who couldn't really be too powerful yet; to a woman who fell in love with Vision but whose romantic connection with him remained unclear; to a polarizing and complex character that Elizabeth Olsen was clearly ready to deliver.
Under Schaeffer's direction, the Scarlet Witch, Vision, their kids, and even the side characters of WandaVision stood out so much that the series received 23 nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards and earned a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Suddenly, the MCU rushed to bring Olsen back for 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, even though most fans had already been begging for a standalone film headlined by the Scarlet Witch.
Elizabeth Olsen on 'WandaVision.'
Marvel Studios/Disney+
We took what we were given, and along came the updates for Agatha All Along. Despite the undeniable success of WandaVision and the universal love for Kathryn Hahn's performance as Agatha Harkness, MCU fans weren't entirely convinced that this 2024 spinoff would actually work, or that it could ever be as good as the show it originated from.
As casting news rolled out, we saw names like Patti LuPone, Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Debra Jo Rupp joining the ensemble — a literal coven of witches — led by Hahn. And when fans noticed that this cast was starting to feel rather queer, the actors also didn't shy away from those assumptions in any way. In fact, they leaned in!
Now that all nine episodes of Agatha All Along are out, the verdict is in: Schaeffer has freaking done it again.
As viewers wrestle with superhero movie fatigue, the never-ending streaming wars between studios, and an extremely bloated age of content, Schaeffer has delivered another show that fits within the greater live-action Marvel continuity but also tells its own complete story; that introduces characters who will live on for years in the franchise along with others who really mattered to this particular project; that captivated casual audiences, thrilled MCU stans, and somehow also catered to even the most diehard Marvel comic book fans — all while infusing magic, queerness, and camp into a spinoff that barely had to rely on its predecessor in order to succeed.
Even for a professional Hollywood writer working with a studio of endless resources, one doesn't have to look very far to see the many spectacular flops coming to our screens (big and small) in recent few years. Against the odds, Agatha All Along was a critically acclaimed series that grew its week-over-week viewership and went ultra-viral on social media with each new episode.
(L-R) Sasheer Zamata, Joe Locke, Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp, and Ali Ahn on 'Agatha All Along.'
Marvel Television/Disney+
The success of Loki season 1 led its showrunner, Michael Waldron, to become the head writer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and be attached to two Avengers films that were in development at the time. Jeremy Slater, the showrunner behind the hit Marvel series Moon Knight, has been booked to write and/or originate blockbusters such as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Mortal Kombat 2, and the live-action adaptation Coyote vs. Acme.
Peter Cameron, credited as the screenwriter for the highly-anticipated film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, was also hired after his successful runs as a writer on WandaVision, Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night, and even Agatha All Along. And while Jon Favreau's achievements as a writer, director, and creator span way beyond The Mandalorian (a Star Wars show that is also under the Disney umbrella), one cannot deny the straight line between that hit Disney+ series and the upcoming 2026 movie The Mandalorian and Grogu.
The immense popularity of WandaVision forged a new path for the MCU that the franchise has absolutely been benefitting from in the years after Avengers: Endgame. So far, most of the hits in the so-called "Multiverse Saga" have come from TV, and Schaeffer's work is an integral part of that journey. Agatha All Along not only proves that WandaVision wasn't a fluke, but that this showrunner can create appointment-viewing content while smoothly intertwining continuity threads into compelling, standalone stories — all of which are critical issues that the MCU is currently facing.
As a result, a legion (pun intended) of fans is clamoring for Disney and Marvel Studios to give Schaeffer more ambitious projects with even bigger budgets and more freedom in the next few years. There is a huge push for the Scarlet Witch to finally get her own standalone film, for instance, and Schaeffer's name is the one on everybody's lips across social networks, message boards, and content-rating platforms. But if you're asking us… we think that Marvel should give Schaeffer $2 billion to do whatever she wants to do next.
Jac Schaeffer at the premiere event of 'Agatha All Along' in Los Angeles.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Marvel
All tea, no shade: she's got the magic touch. In Jac Schaeffer we trust.
WandaVision and Agatha All Along are both available for streaming on Disney+.
