Credit: Marvel StudiosThe first two episodes of Agatha All Along, the 11th Disney Marvel Cinematic Universe show on Disney+, have finally dropped, and we didn’t expect this: Kathryn Hahn defending nudity.
To be clear, we are not surprised about Kathryn Hahn defending nudity in media in general. The acclaimed actor has appeared in films as varied as Step Brothers (2008), Revolutionary Road (2008), and the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent, so it seems pretty likely she is up for trying a lot of different things on screen.
It is a little more surprising to see her doing (not particularly revealing) nudity on-screen in an MCU project on Disney+, however. Marvel Studios has been criticized in the past for its lack of sexuality or romance in its films and TV series and for sometimes being too “mature” or adult-oriented for very small children.
While this particular scene in Agatha All Along is clearly not intended to be titillating, it is already receiving some criticism.
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For example, popular Twitter/X user @Nerdrotics posted, “Interesting creative choice for good old Disney. A teenage girl checking out a middle aged naked woman in a Marvel show. #AgathaAllAlong”
Interesting creative choice for good old Disney.
A teenage girl checking out a middle aged naked woman in a Marvel show.#AgathaAllAlong pic.twitter.com/JQID6iTmGn— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) September 19, 2024
Aside from the somewhat odd implication that a teen girl might have actually seen an older individual of the same gender naked in production, which is almost certainly not the case, other people have been pointing out that other nudity in the MCU has not received nearly the same side-eye.
@TezzaBelle88 posted, “Everyone complaining about Agatha/Kathryn Hahn a WOMAN being naked in episode 1 of #AgathaAllAlong Meanwhile no one said anything about the men of the MCU being naked”
Everyone complaining about Agatha/Kathryn Hahn a WOMAN being naked in episode 1 of #AgathaAllAlong
Meanwhile no one said anything about the men of the MCU being naked pic.twitter.com/DfsYeTyRzT
— Terry Hague (@TezzaBelle88) September 20, 2024
Regardless of what other people think, the star of Agatha All Along has no problem with it and, in fact, says it was her idea. Speaking to Variety, Kathryn Hahn revealed that she “came up with it. I thought it was good to see her as stripped down, literally, as we possibly could, which spoke into her powerlessness at the present moment.”
That makes sense for the context. Agatha All Along picks up after the events of WandaVision, in which Wanda Maximoff, AKA the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), used her powers to take over a New Jersey town and mentally control its inhabitants in order to try to cope with the trauma of basically her entire tortured life.
Those not-so-great plans were derailed by Agatha Harkness, a centuries-old witch portrayed by Hahn. Harkness initially posed as a friend and neighbor to Maximoff until they had to settle things with a good old-fashioned “different-colored light beam” fight.
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Since then, Agatha Harkness has been trapped in Westview. Now, a mysterious “Teen” (Joe Locke) has freed her and enlisted her help, which seems to include also recruiting Debra Jo Rupp, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Patti LuPone to form a coven.
But, despite being freed, this seems to be a low point for Agatha, which is probably why Hahn continued. She said, “She’s been stripped of all of her power at this point in the series. I mean, she really had nothing at that point, and so it became about illustrating that gap between that moment and her finding her power again.”
WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer confirmed it was the actor’s idea, saying, “Kathryn was like, ‘Would she grab the robe? I don’t feel like she would grab the robe. I feel like she would really not care about being naked in front of the neighbors. I told her, ‘That is the greatest idea I’ve ever heard.’ Kathryn has done so much work, and she’s done a lot of nudity and other things, and so it also felt very subversive to get Kathryn Hahn’s nudity into the MCU.”
Do you think Marvel shows should include nudity?