Marvel’s latest hit series has an unexpected connection to one of pop music’s biggest stars. That’s because Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer has revealed that Taylor Swift‘s songwriting played a significant role in shaping the show’s creative direction.
The musical legacy of Marvel’s witch-centered stories began with WandaVision‘s viral hit “Agatha All Along,” created by Oscar-winners Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The duo drew inspiration from classic supernatural shows, incorporating elements from The Addams Family and Monster Mash to craft their spooky earworm. This foundation set the stage for Agatha All Along, which continued to push Marvel’s musical boundaries. The series’ original composition, “The Ballad of the Witches Road,” entered Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart and received a Japanese Breakfast remix.
So, how does Swift relate to all of this? In a recent interview with Decider, Schaeffer revealed that the pop icon helped create the musical storytelling of Agatha All Along.
How did Taylor Swift help turn Agatha All Along into a huge hit?
Jac Schaeffer, the creative force behind both WandaVision and Agatha All Along, has revealed that Swift’s storytelling abilities played a crucial role in her creative process. “I listen to a lot of Taylor Swift because she’s a storyteller, and I find that very inspiring when I’m trying to write,” Schaeffer explains. “As I listen to her songs, it makes me want to write.”
That’s the second time this year that Swift plays the role of muse for the creative minds working in the MCU, as Ryan Reynolds is also a declared Swiftie. Not coincidentally, Deadpool & Wolverine was Marvel’s biggest hit in theaters, while Agatha All Along surpassed everyone’s expectations on Disney+. It’s arguably time for Kevin Feige to offer Swift an MCU role, especially after all the rumors that the singer playing Dazzler proved wrong.
Agatha All Along‘s musical landscape extended beyond Swift’s influence, incorporating various artists’ work under the guidance of executive producer Mary Livanos and music supervisor Mary Parker. Schaeffer cited Haim’s “witchy” sister dynamic and Björk (a favorite of lead actress Kathryn Hahn) as additional inspirations. For the central romance between Agatha and Rio (Aubrey Plaza), Schaeffer turned to queer sensation BoyGenius, whose alternative sound helped shape the emotional depth of their relationship. “But then also with like some — a little bit of Metallica in there,” Schaeffer adds, underlining the latent violence of the Rio-Agatha relationship.
In the interview, Schaeffer also praised the whole creative team of Agatha All Along, as everyone helped by offering ideas of how to best use songs in the limited series. For instance, the iconic needle drop at the end of Episode 3, when Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” sets the spooky and comedic tone of Sharon Davis’s (Debra Jo Rupp) death, was pitched by executive producer Mary Livanos. It’s worth noting that Livanos was also an executive producer of WandaVision and The Marvels, the latter of which is a movie featuring an iconic musical number.
The collective effort paid off, as Agatha All Along ended its run as one of the best Disney+ productions ever. Hopefully, the whole team will come back for another MCU project.