Neighborhood News: Emma Caulfield Ford To Return To The WandaVerse In ‘Agatha: Coven Of Chaos’
Emma Caulfield Ford hasn’t moved out of the Marvel neighborhood.
The actress, who played witchy Wanda’s neighbor Dottie in WandaVision (and who is also beloved for her role as the demon Anya in another iconic show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will reprise the role on the sequel/spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Marvel hasn’t said much about the Kathryn Hahn-led spinoff show, but WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer will be penning the scripts, and it is expected to hit Disney+ in the winter of 2023. Coven of Chaos is one of half a dozen series Marvel has on the calendar over the next few years, with Secret Invasion, Echo, Ironheart and season two of Loki also due to get premiere dates soon.
Caufield Ford, who spoke with Vanity Fair, also revealed that she has been quietly battling Multiple Sclerosis for the past decade.
“Once upon a time, I had zero health problems,” she told the magazine. “I woke up one morning and the left side of my face felt like there were a million ants crawling on it. That feeling when you’ve sat in a position too long? … The feeling’s gone and it’s coming back like a rush of blood.”
“It was like an out-of-body experience,” she said about her MS diagnosis. “I’m like, ‘No, that’s not possible.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ [The doctor] was very matter of fact about it…. It was literally a kind of nightmare.”
Caulfield Ford also revealed that her late father had MS, though it wasn’t the cause of his death. The actor also said she kept her diagnosis quiet as she “didn’t want to give anyone the opportunity to not hire me.” Caulfield Ford said she filmed WandaVision while trying to minimize how the MS was affecting her. She added that after being cast in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, she has notified everyone “that needs to be notified.”
Caufield Ford said she ultimately decided to go public in part for her young daughter and to raise awareness about the condition.
“If I have a platform at all, I should be using it. Even if it affects my ability to get work. … It’s better for me to at least be vocal about this and be out there to try to help the MS Foundation and other groups who are doing research,” Caulfield told Vanity Fair.