Marvel Studios has followed a specific strategy regarding its Disney+ projects since WandaVision was released in 2021, but now the company is finally taking a different approach, beginning with Agatha All Along.
Many fans agree that Disney+ was and still is the perfect platform for the MCU episodic series' that interconnect with feature films released in theaters.
However, it is no secret that early MCU Disney+ shows such as WandaVision and Loki were generally received much better than more recent releases.
Marvel Studios Officially Changes Disney+ Strategy
In the latest issue of SFX Magazine, it was confirmed that Marvel Studios officially abandoned its first and arguably biggest Disney+ strategy beginning with its next release, Agatha All Along.
Initially, Marvel Studios strived to create and produce its Disney+ projects with just a head writer instead of a showrunner, a role that most other major TV shows, such as House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, and Yellowstone, rely heavily upon.
These head writers would lead the series' script development but, come production time, would relinquish main control of the show to its director(s) and producers. This mirrors the approach that Marvel Studios has taken on many of its successful movies, and so it's not a huge surprise they wanted to try to maintain it for its television projects.
Now, Agatha All Along will be Marvel Studios' first live-action Disney+ project with a showrunner at the helm, who is none other than WandaVision's head writer and creator, Jac Schaeffer. (Schaeffer is also a credited director on three episodes of Agatha).
Moving forward, Marvel's Disney+ series will stick with the showrunner strategy, meaning that the showrunner, after leading the writer's room in creating and finalizing scripts, will continue as the creative lead through filming and editing.
Both fans and inside sources viewed Marvel Studios' no-showrunner strategy as an issue due to the absence of one person who would lead all of the series' creative decisions starting in development all the way through to post-production. With Agatha All Along breaking that mold, a new era of MCU storytelling on Disney+ will be underway.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, Schaeffer talked about the change and how it will affect future projects such as Agatha All Along. However, Schaeffer also mentioned Marvel Studios' "initial pitch," explaining that she "still [subscribes] to" it and what it "[was] meant to be:"
"I still subscribe to the initial pitch about what [the Marvel series] were meant to be, which was like a run of a comic. Because of the episodic nature of it, and the length of it, that it could be a deeper dive into the characters. That’s what it has been."
The Agatha All Along showrunner then explained how Marvel Studios' strategy has "evolved," specifically mentioning how "it's an opportunity to go down a rabbit hole with a character" instead of being focused on connecting to the bigger picture:
"What’s evolved under [Head of Television] Brad Winderbaum is the idea that it’s not homework. It’s not so much about the interconnected pieces than it’s an opportunity to go down a rabbit hole with a character or a set of characters. That’s been the ride for me on both 'WandaVision' and 'Agatha.'"
It is important to note that Daredevil: Born Again was initially believed to be the first MCU Disney+ project to hire a showrunner, as Dario Scardapane was announced in October 2023 to fill that role after the show was overhauled.
How Will Marvel Studios' New Approach Affect Disney+ Storytelling?
When Marvel Studios began releasing its Disney+ shows, having no showrunner wasn't an issue since those early projects had been planned out for so long and were set to connect specific dots that the films didn't get to.
However, as more original projects came along and certain characters were introduced into the MCU for the first time through these shows instead of movies, not having a showrunner became more of an issue.
Since those characters and stories didn't directly connect to feature films, Marvel Studios had trouble hitting the mark with some of its Disney+ releases, especially when they didn't feel like episodic series.
Moving forward, MCU Disney+ shows will look and feel more like TV shows, which many fans will likely appreciate.
It will also give showrunners more creative freedom to branch out and create stories that aren't solely focused on connecting to other projects but rather build upon themselves until they are ready to crossover into the bigger picture.
With this change, Marvel Studios likely hopes to get fans more interested in its Disney+ releases. This will then increase viewership and possibly surpass the numbers set by earlier shows like WandaVision and Loki.
No matter what the future holds, fans will soon get a firsthand look at Marvel's new approach when Agatha All Along is released. This will be a good stress test to see what works and what still needs to be improved upon with future projects that have a showrunner attached.
Agatha All Along will premiere on Disney+ on Wednesday, September 18.
