Rumor: ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Making ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Non-Canon

The year 2023, and early 2024, will provide us with new exciting Marvel projects, and one of them is ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos‘ TV series that will be canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The last time we saw Agatha Harkness in the MCU, she was defeated by Wanda Maximoff and trapped in her Agnes persona. Now, Wandavision and Doctor Strange 2 showed us new revelations about the Darkhold, and the most recent rumors suggest that the best TV series in the MCU, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., won’t be canon to the MCU.

Rumors are always inconsistent, especially when it comes to MCU. Of course, there have been some instances when one community on Reddit leaked the footage of the upcoming Avengers: Endgame and ruined the excitement of the Infinity Saga ending for many fans. However, besides rumors that eventually become spoilers, MCU has always had a confusing rumor mill, especially regarding the timeline and setting of the universe.

The ending of Wandavision provided us with many questions at the time, with some fans indicating that Agatha Harkness single-handedly made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Runaways TV series’ non-canon. This was because, in the Wandavision finale, Agatha Harkness is shown to own Darkhold, a book that possesses dark magic based on ancient engraving carved by Chthon, a demonic entity.

The witch tells Wanda about her destiny and shows her what the dark book has in store for Scarlet Witch. This moment seemingly erased Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Runaways TV shows. Why? Well, the Darkhold book was featured in both TV series as an important plot point. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D saw Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider taking the Darkhold to Hell, so no one could use it for their own gain, while Runaways presented us with Morgan le Fay, who was eventually banished with it from Earth.

Rumors from two years ago resurface once again

We didn’t hear about Darkhold until Wandavision and the season one finale. From the scene, we can easily speculate that Agatha Harkness held onto Darkhold for ages, which doesn’t match the timeline of the other TV shows. Some fans were upset since TV series like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D aren’t considered more important in the MCU, but the projects after Wandavision saw the concept of the Multiverse being more important for Phase Five.

The most recent rumor on Twitter suggests that Agatha: Coven of Chaos will confirm that Agatha Harkness held the Darkhold for more than 100 years prior Wandavision series, which will disregard and decanonize Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Runaways.

However, these rumors could be easily debunked if we look into one particular scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness movie, where Wong confesses to Scarlet Witch that Darkhold is simply a copy.

This scene is one of the movie’s most important parts because Wong suggests many versions of Darkhold exist across the universe, hence why he said the “copy.” Of course, each fan has their own interpretation of the scene, with some fans claiming that someone transcribed “the wretched spells carved in walls of the cave” and made it into the evil book we saw in Doctor Strange 2 and Wandavision.

Meaning that particular Darkhold is the only copy in the MCU. We also see Wanda “sacrificing” herself at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and destroying the Darkhold Castle with all Darkholds across the Multiverse.

Does this mean that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is non-canon? To be fair, the TV series was never really involved with the canon MCU movies. Yes, we saw Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, Jasper Sitwell, and other characters appear in the show and even referenced the major happenings of the universe throughout the seasons.

However, after the season six premiere, it seems that Marvel Studios decided to cut off the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fully since the show stopped referencing the Snap and the events of the Infinity War. The introduction of the Multiverse helps the show in terms of being the alternate universe, which was hinted at during the show’s run.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Runaways may be simply part of the different Universe, which future projects like Agatha: Coven of Chaos and executive producer and “the boss” Kevin Feige will only confirm. Until then, this rumor doesn’t mean anything until we see the whole project at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.