Marvel Studios' upcoming WandaVision sequel, Agatha All Along, will put the spotlight on Kathryn Hahn's returning Agatha Harkness and Joe Locke's mysterious "Teen" as they travel down the Witches' Road.
While Marvel Studios is going to great lengths to maintain the secrecy surrounding Locke's role, a new Variety piece on the actor confirms, "the character's true identity is a crucial story point on the show."
Between that, his costumes in the trailers, and the fact "Teen" is gay, comic book fans have come to the surely correct conclusion that Locke is playing Billy Maximoff, a.k.a. Wiccan, the son of the Vision and Scarlet Witch.
Asked by the trade how he feels to join Tessa Thompson as one of the only actors to play a queer superhero in the MCU, the actor responded, "I’ve never really thought about it. It’s one of those things that gets a bit stressful if you think about it too much. But being in a Marvel series is the most pinch me thing."
When it comes to what Marvel Studios was looking for from him, Locke adds, "I thought you get cast in a Marvel show, you get paid to get really muscly and hence. 'We want you to stay small and twink-y' is basically what they said, in a very corporate way."
Of course, he's well aware that his role in Agatha All Along could spark backlash and there was indeed some from fans, including those in the LGBTQ+ community, when the first trailer launched. "It was like, 'Oh, why has Marvel done this campy gay stereotype?'" he recalled, clearly upset by the response. "It really annoyed me because I was like, 'You can’t ask for authentic casting and then be upset if you have a camp character.'"
Locke added, "I’m fully aware that the Marvel fandom is far less nice than the ‘Heartstopper’ fandom. There’s going to be a lot of people that just hate everything about the character and everything about what I’ve done with it, and I just have to be OK with that."
"Marvel fans are very open with their opinions," he noted with a smile. "But they’re not in a Marvel show, so [blows a raspberry]. I’m doing the one thing that they really wish they could be doing. Sorry!"
We'd say that's a pretty good response to his detractors! Anyone who knows Wiccan (a character who could be a game-changer for the MCU) will know that Locke is another pitch-perfect casting decision, so it should be fun seeing where he takes the Young Avenger.
In the series, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing.
Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road.
Agatha All Along stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.
Agatha All Along premieres on September 18 at 6pm PT/9pm ET, with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+.