Agatha All Along’s creator has shared some new details on the Mephisto references in the show so far. Jac Schaeffer is the woman behind the camera for Agatha All Along and she told The Hollywood Reporter about the decision to mention Mephisto in Episode 3. The entire MCU fandom lost its collective mind when the famous Marvel villain ended up getting a shout-out. For Schaeffer, that was a bit of fun for the fans, but also a concession to the larger Marvel Studios framework. That’s probably going to delight a lot of people watching out there who are trying to make sense of all the different mysteries swirling in the MCU right now. It also shows that the creative teams at Marvel are planning for the future when it comes to the often rumored demon. WandaVision was full of speculation about Mephisto rearing his head by the finale. Now, expect some similar expectations when it comes to
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“It was a conversation with [Agatha] executive producer Mary Livanos, [Marvel’s head of streaming] Brad [Winderbaum] and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige], but it is a mention that is larger than me and this show,” Schaeffer began. “It is the larger Marvel-ness of it. So it is not about me bristling or having any kind of a reaction or agenda, mostly because that type of fevered discourse that is very, very rooted in the comics is not as interesting to me as the current story being told in the series at hand.”
That sort of admission is going to raise every MCU fans’ antennae on the way through the rest of Agatha All Along. A lot of fans assumed that the Mephisto tease was something to toss the fanbase a bone on the way through a series that felt like it would have little connection to the larger MCU plot lines. But, if Mephisto was a big enough deal for Kevin Feige, Mary Livanos and Brad Winderbaum to step in and ask for his inclusion, something is probably up. Who could have dreamed that viewers would be getting full-throated mentions of the Marvel villain more than three years after WandaVision? Well, the future is now and the excitement for the final chapters of Agatha All Along is going to continue to increase at the rate we’re traveling along now.
Agatha All Along Teases Larger Plans For Mephisto
Of course, there’s also the feeling that Agatha All Along could end up disappointing the fans if Mephisto doesn’t show up during its run. (Schaeffer’s latest comment will only fan the flames on social media as the theorizing is at a fever pitch surrounding this show.) There’s been so much already teased from Scarlet Witch resurrections to Wiccan’s eventual entrance into the MCU proper. It’s a lot for one show to handle, to be honest. So, Schaeffer decided very early on that Agatha All Along should really be all about the title character rather than the other stuff going on with Marvel Studios. If the team told a great story about Kathryn Hahn’s witch, then the rest would follow. Through four weeks, the series is looking to be in great shape with the best retention rate of any Marvel Studios TV show and growing viewership week over week.
The director talked about managing fan expectations two weeks ago with Entertainment Weekly. “It still stops my heart. My preoccupation is maximum viewer enjoyment, so I get nervous when people get ahead of it,” the director shared. “I have to trust that humans are capable of deciding what kind of experience they want. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that it’s a circuitous path, and I hope that that path is enjoyable.”
She sighs. “It makes me a little heartsick when I catch reactions of people who were ultimately disappointed by things. It gets to me a little bit,” Schaeffer added. “But in approaching ‘Agatha,’ it was not front of mind. I really can’t control that. That’s a level of fandom that is beyond my reach.”
In essence, Controlling what you can control is a good strategy for any creative endeavor. Things are not always going to go to plan or have the audience reception you expect. But, if you’re making these shows for the fans that really are invested in the characters at the center of them, Then you have less to worry about. Getting all the Agatha Harkness fans into the door from day one was the best thing possible for the show, because they’re telling their friends and family about how much they’re enjoying the ride down The Witches’ Road.
Do you think we’re getting full-blown Mephisto in Agatha All Along? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!
