Could ‘Agatha All Along’ Face the Same Challenges as ‘The Acolyte’?

After several title changes, Agatha All Along seems to have settled on its official name. The series premieres on September 19, 2024, with the first two episodes debuting on Disney+, followed by weekly releases of the remaining seven episodes through November 6. Kathryn Hahn returns to reprise her role as Agatha Harkness from WandaVision, now taking center stage in her own standalone show.

While early reviews have been largely positive, one recurring concern has emerged. Some fans worry that Agatha All Along might face similar challenges as The Acolyte, particularly due to its thematic content and pre-release statements from the cast and crew.

In this report, we’ll dive deeper into these concerns and assess whether Agatha All Along is likely to encounter the same fate as The Acolyte, just as the series begins its highly anticipated streaming run.

The story of The Acolyte unfolds like this: it was intended to be a major prequel project for the Star Wars franchise, with Lucasfilm pouring significant resources into its production and marketing, hoping for success on par with The Mandalorian or Ahsoka.

However, even before its release, the show faced intense backlash from toxic “fans” due to its diverse cast and female leads. This animosity was exacerbated by comments from some cast and crew members, who openly provoked these critics. This culminated in an unprecedented hate and review-bombing campaign.

While this backlash didn’t directly cause the show’s downfall, The Acolyte had deeper issues—primarily its failure to deliver a compelling narrative—which ultimately led to its cancellation.

As for Agatha All Along, it doesn’t seem to suffer from the same systemic issues, but some fans remain concerned due to pre-release comments from the cast and crew. They’ve described the series as “Marvel’s gayest” show yet, with creator Jac Schaeffer stating, among other things:

In fact, I think of Agatha as a drag queen; not only is she an icon, but she’s a performer above all else, and a code switcher depending on who she’s with. With all of this in mind, the writing team as a group were unapologetic about making these characters openly queer.

There is an enormous overlap between the history and persecution of witches and that of the LGBTQ community, just as there’s a lot of intersection between the queer community and the horror genre, so it was a very natural fit for there to be queer representation in the show.

Source: Zavvi

Other cast members have also weighed in, with Aubrey Plaza hinting at a potential romance between her character, Rio Vidal, and Agatha. Meanwhile, Joe Locke has openly discussed LGBTQ+ representation in the series. This echoes how The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland and her team also described their show as “gay,” while some cast and crew members directly confronted critics.

This led to a backlash from “fans” who hadn’t even seen The Acolyte, claiming it was bad. Given the similarities, could Agatha All Along face the same fate? Probably not.

There are two main reasons why. First, the franchise. The MCU has long embraced LGBTQ+ representation, and its fanbase is more accustomed to these themes, both in the films and the original comics. As a result, the MCU doesn’t deal with the same volume of toxic “fans.”

By contrast, Star Wars has a vocal segment of its fanbase resistant to changes, especially when it comes to issues like female leads or diversity, regardless of the project’s quality.

Second, Agatha All Along is in a different position than The Acolyte. The series fits more naturally into the MCU’s established narrative universe, where these themes are already familiar and expected. In contrast, Disney has sometimes been criticized for forcing changes within the Star Wars franchise, with The Acolyte seen as a prime example.

So, while haters and “fans” will always exist, it’s unlikely that Agatha All Along will face the same downfall. If the show delivers quality, it should avoid the fate of The Acolyte.

Have thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

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