WandaVision's Billy Actor on Agatha Spin-off, Wiccan Future & More (Exclusive)
WandaVision helped the Marvel Cinematic Universe take some major steps forward with a wide magical ride hidden in a nine-episode tribute to American TV sitcoms. Bringing one of Marvel's most enigmatic witches in Agatha Harkness while giving Wanda her twin boys from the comics in Billy and Tommy, the MCU's first Disney+ series became the talk of the comic book movie community upon its release.
While Wanda Maximoff's future is still uncertain due to her presumed death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, her legacy lives on thanks to key supporting characters in her solo series.
Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne now embody the MCU's Billy and Tommy Maximoff, who will unquestionably be key members of the franchise's Young Avengers when that team becomes a reality. Additionally, Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness is ready to star in her own Disney+ solo series, Agatha: House of Harkness, which will provide new details and backstory for a fan-favorite anti-hero/villain.
Safe to say, the MCU's future looks brighter than ever as Phase 4 continues, much of that thanks to the development of intriguing and deeply-layered characters from WandaVision a year and a half ago.
Now, looking ahead to that future in an exclusive chat with The Direct, half of WandaVision's super-twin duo shared his own hopes for what's on the way in the next few years.
MCU's Billy Actor on Future for Wiccan & Agatha Harkness
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Richard Nebens, MCU star Julian Hilliard reflected on his experience working with the franchise's biggest names on both WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He also looked forward to what Marvel Studios has in store, both for his character in Billy Maximoff and those he's already appeared with.
With Billy's powers being quite similar in nature to his mother, Wanda Maximoff's, Hilliard was asked about how much help he got from Elizabeth Olsen in terms of the iconic hand gestures used to bring that magic on camera. While he paid close attention to Olsen's work both on set and in her past movies, along with rewatching 2016's Doctor Strange, he got to be flexible in delivering his own interpretation for his own role:
"Actually, with doing the hand motions, we watched Lizzie in the previous films and watched off-stage while she was filming and then would practice on our own. I also watched Doctor Strange again to see his movements. But I never actually had someone on set teach me specifics, it was kind of my own interpretation."
Hilliard also shared how much he enjoyed his time with Agatha Harkness star Kathryn Hahn, teasing how much he can't wait to see her work on Agatha: House of Harkness with "a few others from the WandaVision team" involved as well:
"She’s the best and so funny. I even made her laugh with an edamame joke. I love Kathryn Hahn and can’t wait for House of Harkness. They have Jac Schaeffer, and a few others from the WandaVision team. I know it’s going to be amazing. Their scripts for WandaVision were some of the best I’ve ever read."
When asked which MCU characters Hilliard would love to work with in the future, he was quick to mention Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Chris Hemsworth's Thor as ideas to throw in alongside Billy Maximoff:
"Tom Holland. I love Spider-Man so much and he is awesome. Also, Thor of course, I love Thor, and that’s a lot like Billy too, so that makes sense (laughs). Really all of them. I love the MCU."
Moving back to Agatha Harkness' solo show, he admitted that he'd be more than happy to reprise his role as Billy in that outing if Marvel were to ask him to come back, laughing throughout his response:
"(Laughs) Uh yeah! Like I said before, I’m a big fan of everyone involved on that show and would love that. All they have to do is ask (laughs)."
Billy and Tommy are in a strange predicament in the MCU at the moment since they only exist on Earth-838, which was shown throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When asked how he envisions his character coming back within the context of the prime MCU, Hilliard was happy to leave those decisions to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige:
"I’ll leave that up to Kevin Feige. In Feige we trust (laughs). And you know, it’s like in horror films, if you don’t see the characters die or disappear on screen, how can you be 100% sure they did? Just something to think about (laughs)."
Hilliard then looked to the idea of adapting his superhero alias, Wiccan, in future MCU appearances. Interestingly, he compared his journey to get to that moniker with the one Wanda Maximoff took towards becoming the Scarlet Witch, which he called "such an amazing payoff" when it happened:
"Well, look what they did with Wanda’s character, it took years before she was officially The Scarlet Witch and that was such an amazing payoff. So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!"
WandaVision's Impact on Upcoming MCU Stories
While WandaVision likely won't move forward into a second season, it has a lasting impact on Phase 4 that will be felt for years to come, even for actors like Julian Hilliard as they experience it first-hand.
Hilliard continued to share how excited he is with the idea of continuing to develop Billy Maximoff in future projects, especially with the Young Avengers clearly building towards assembling not too long from now. This includes a progression towards the Wiccan name that Billy uses in the comics, which should come as a turning point moment for him when it happens as it did for Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff with the Scarlet Witch moniker.
Additionally, he's fully on board the Agatha: House of Harkness bandwagon with so many fans after Kathryn Hahn stole the show as WandaVision's main antagonist, which included the incredibly catchy and award-winning "Agatha All Along." When this all goes further into development is still up in the air, but if it's something Marvel-related, Hilliard is ready for the challenge.
All nine episodes of WandaVision are now streaming on Disney+. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is playing in theaters, and it will be available to stream on Disney+ on June 22.
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