‘Agatha All Along’ Star Joe Locke Says His Character Being Gay “Is Significant In That It’s A Part Of Him, But It’s Not A Huge Element Of The Plot”
In an apparent attempt to ease fans fear that the series will focus too much on celebrating its representation and not enough on telling an actual story, Agatha All Along star Joe Locke has claimed that while his character’s gay sexuality will be a “significant” part of his personality, it will have little bearing on the WandaVision spin-off’s overall plot.
RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Cast And Creator Says Series Honors Original Marvel Comics But Adds Themes Of Female Empowerment: “A Witch Is Able To Live Outside Of The Mainstream Idea Of What We Think Of As A Woman”
Locke, whose character has only thus far been officially referred to as ‘The Teen’ (but has been identified via rumors and the series’ own subtitles as founding Young Avengers member and the Scarlet Witch’s son Billy Kaplan), offered this insight into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next entry during a recent promotional interview given to Total Film’s Kim Taylor-Foster.
Speaking to The Teen’s motivation to join up with Agatha and follow her down The Witches’ Road, the Heartstopper star told Kim, “The Witches’ Road in the comics is a road… a journey… a quest that witches can go on to gain power if they reach the end. The process of getting to the end is not an easy one. There are lots of quests and trials and hardships you have to go through to get to the end.”
“He’s very thoughtful and kind, but he can act without thinking sometimes,” he explained. “The Witches’ Road offers untold spoils and power… and then we’ll find out.”
Turning to The Teen’s actual personality, Locke first noted that in regard to his current moniker, “It’s not a fake code name; it’s what everyone calls him, which is a joke that develops during the show, but just becomes what everyone calls him, and he answers to it.”
From there, he then asserted the aforementioned claim that while his character – much like his supposed comic book counterpart – is gay, this fact is “significant in that it’s a part of him, but it’s not a huge element of the plot.”
Notably, this is not the only time during Agatha All Along‘s press tour that Locke has clarified how allegedly little bearing his character’s sexuality has on the series’ plot.
During his time with Variety’s Marc Malkin, the actor likewise detailed, “[the show’s] got many layers and gay is one of them. That’s one of the great things about the show. … Teen is a queer guy on the show, but it’s not the driving force, which I think is really great. It’s really nice to just have these positive queer characters.”
Curiously, despite Locke’s seeming attempt to avoid making ‘gay’ the entire topic of the press tour, his fellow castmates have taken to doing the exact opposite.
Asked by Malkin during the same interview as to whether or not she agreed with the description of Agatha All Along as “the gayest project Marvel has ever done”, series star Sasheer Zamata affirmatively declared, “I would agree with that.”
“You’ll see when you watch,” asserted the actress, who is set to portray the series’ race-swapped incarnation of Jennifer Kale. “Witches are queer, inherently, just because we are outcasts and set aside for many reasons. This show shows a really good representation of different types of people and that we can all use the power we have within to go forward and be great.”
Adding to her co-star’s thoughts, series original character Rio Vidal actor Aubrey Plaza affirmed, “It will be a gay explosion by the end of it”.
Further, Ali Ahn, who appears as the MCU’s version of Alice Gulliver, told Malkin, “It is the gayest show on Marvel.”
“There is a lot of pageantry we’re already competing with,” she said. “I think the thing that makes it more gay is that we are singing with Patti.”
Ultimately, just how ‘gay’ the series actually – and whether or not The Teen’s story truly does treat his sexuality as a simple fact rather than an oddity to be spotlighted – will be determined when Agatha All Along begins airing on Disney Plus tomorrow, September 18th.
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