Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman should probably become a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe themselves as a fortune-telling hero — the YA author and illustrator successfully predicted the casting of Joe Locke as Marvel's Wiccan nearly a decade ago.
Locke, who stars as Charlie in the popular Netflix series based on Oseman's graphic novel series, appears as the character Wiccan in Marvel's Disney+ series Agatha All Along. As noted by Pop Base, Oseman actually predicted this casting seven years ago with an illustration of Charlie and Nick dressed as Wiccan and Hulkling.
The Heartstopper star just made his debut as the character, who was revealed as the son of Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch in episode 5 of Agatha All Along, set to the chilling needle drop of Billie Eilish's “You Should See Me in a Crown.” Up until that fifth episode, Locke's character was known as Teen — but it has now been revealed that Teen's true identity is actually a reincarnation of Billy Maximoff, AKA Wiccan.
Locke told Entertainment Weekly that the secret was more than two years in the making and was a lot of work to keep to himself. “The thing that I've kept so secret, guarding it with my life is now just in the ether.” While there were clues that Locke would probably be playing Wiccan — Oseman's illustration notwithstanding — the reveal is now official, and fans can expect to see a lot more of the actor on Agatha All Along.
“The show starts getting real. The show starts with Billy being very much the familiar, the secondary to all the witches. Now we know he is also a witch, and that changes things,” Locke continued. “Also, we now know that he has the ability to cause harm to them. Therefore, he is now the most powerful person on the [Witches] Road. What does that change in the dynamic of the group and how does that change the future of those relationships?”
Locke isn't sure how long his tenure in the MCU will last, but it seems like there's a lot of potential for Billy/Wiccan, who is a popular character and notably one of the most prominent LGTBQ+ characters in the Marvel world. What makes Oseman's almost-psychic illustration even more eerie is that in 2023, fan theories of Kit Connor joining the MCU as Hulkling — a member of the Young Avengers who is married to Wiccan — swirled to an all-time high.
"In my ideal world, [Wiccan] would become the next head of the Avengers and be in every Marvel thing ever, but there are higher things at play," Locke told EW. “I had the most amazing experience filming on Agatha and being a part of the Marvel family and would love to do that until the day I die. But who knows? I don't. I'm sure someone does.” Someone call Bob Iger!
