Marvel Studios is ramping up its publicity machine, teases details for Agatha, Daredevil and Eyes of Wakanda

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? That’s what Marvel is banking on.

After inundating fans with a torrent of TV shows and movies, the 2024 schedule is noticeably sparse. There’s only one film coming out (Deadpool & Wolverine later this month) and only one live-action series has premiered so far (Echo).

The soft reset has allowed the studio to, once again, build anticipation for its upcoming projects. Lack is a powerful motivator.

Brad Winderbaum, the executive in charge of Marvel’s streaming output, appeared on the brand’s official podcast to share some details about three anticipated series – Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again and Eyes of Wakanda.

Agatha All Along is slated for a September premiere and will focus on the character Kathryn Hahn played in the WandaVision series. The villain-centric show has been secretive so far but Winderbaum called her an anti-hero, which suggested the character will straddle the line between good and bad.

“Agatha is… really fun, but it’s really scary and it gets quite dramatic,” he told the podcast. “She’s an amazing anti-hero and that show… lures you in with the fun of Halloween, and before you know it, you’re crying.

“It’s a Marvel brand of scary, it’s a Halloween show. There are deadly stakes in this series, it’s a fun ride, but it’s a dangerous one.”

In WandaVision, Agatha originally appeared as the neighbour to Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, before she was unmasked as the show’s Big Bad, conniving to steal the superhero’s powers.

Winderbaum called Daredevil: Born Again “incredible” and likened it to X-Men ’97 as a fan favourite being revived in a different direction.

“These characters have matured. The universe is different than it was. Things have changed, society has changed,” he said.

Daredevil has had two previous screen adaptations. One was the critically derided Ben Affleck movie that was released before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was formed, and the second was the Netflix series starring Charlie Cox as the blind superhero with a law degree.

The Netflix series ran for three seasons and was canned when Marvel and the streamer’s agreement ended. The show was beloved by fans for its gritty tone and elaborate fight choreography, but it was only tangentially connected to the MCU.

The first sign some form of Daredevil was to be folded into the MCU came in late 2021 when Vincent D’Onofrio reprised his Daredevil role as Wilson Fisk in the Hawkeye series. Then Cox appeared as Daredevil/Matt Murdock in the 2022 show She-Hulk.

What’s not clear is whether the characters, despite being played by the same actors, are the same versions as the ones on the Netflix series.

Winderbaum added, “Matt and Wilson have changed, and their characters are going to collide in ways we’ve never seen before. It’s no longer enough to try and murder each other. There’s a whole game of politics at play.”

Finally, with the animated Eyes of Wakanda, expected later this year, Winderbaum said the Black Panther spin-off will be about Wakanda history and span different time periods, and will also feature “insane” action. Ryan Coogler, who directed the two films, is a producer.

The famously secretive Marvel Studios is very strategic about what information it reveals and when about its upcoming slate. That Winderbaum was booked as a guest on its official podcast signals the company is about to ramp up its publicity machine after a relatively and deliberately quiet period.

Marvel will at the end of this month appear in Hall H at the San Diego Comic Con, where, traditionally, big announcements are rolled out. It is expected to have a presence at the Disney fan convention D23 in August.

Fans are hoping for updates and footage from forthcoming films Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four. SDCC and D23 would also be a good place to announce a replacement director for Blade, which has already cycled through two directors who ultimately left the project.