'Heartstopper' Star Joe Locke Promises 'WandaVision' Spinoff will 'Resonate' with LGBTQ+ Viewers

"Agatha: Coven of Chaos" star Joe Locke promises that the "WandaVision" spinoff will "resonate with the queer community," Digital Spy reports. Locke should know: He is already the star of another show that resonates, deeply, with LGBTQ+ viewers, namely the Netflix hit "Heartstopper."

Digital Spy noted that, "according to Patti LuPone," Locke is "playing one of Sicilian witch Lilia Calderu's [LuPone] familiars, opposite Aubrey Plaza ('The White Lotus'), title star Kathryn Hahn and Emma Caulfield Ford." Other actors in the cast include Debra Jo Rupp and Emma Caulfield, and Sasheer Zamata, EW noted.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 19-year-old British actor, who is openly gay, commented on the massive tea that LuPone spilled in an interview about the show. "She didn't have any filter because she's Patti LuPone," Locke said. "She's incredible and I love her so much, but I remember we were all on set watching the interview and we were like, 'No! Patti, stop talking! Stop talking!' "

On the set, though, it seems that Locke and LuPone made a connection,. "As a theater geek, he was particularly in awe of LuPone, who hugged him right away during the first rehearsal," EW relayed.

Locke was more circumspect than LuPone had been in his comments on "Agatha: Coven of Chaos," talking more about getting cast than what his role turned out to be like.

"Putting your energy into something is never gonna harm a situation. With Marvel, I was very determined to get the part," Locke told the outlet. "I had never been that determined about anything before, which I think meant that I was putting my energy into it."

The young actor also shared his thoughts about starring with so many highly esteemed actresses. "I've learned so much from all six of the leading ladies about how to act as a person, as a lead of a show, as an actor respecting the crew," Locke enthused. "I learned a lot about the actor that I want to be from these women."

Where Locke refused to tread in terms of spoilers, fans have rushed in to theorize, EW noted. "Comic book aficionados are convinced Locke is playing a grown version of Billy Maximoff, a.k.a. Wiccan, the son of Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch – which would mean the young star did reach his goal of playing an openly gay Marvel hero," the publication noted, after recalling that prior to landing the role Locke had publicly hoped to blaze a trail as a queer "Disney princess" or at least an out Marvel superhero.

"Of course, Locke can't say one way or the other. He does, however, talk about how WandaVision became a surprise hit among LGBTQ viewers, like himself," EW added.

"The show is about misunderstood people and people who are alienated by their society for reasons that they can't control," Locke mused. "I think that resonates a lot with the queer community."

"It was also campy as hell," EW recalled, noting how the WandaVision "channel[ed] different decades of classic TV sitcoms."

Locke assured EW that "WandaVision" fans would find some familiarity in the new show: "I think there'll be some camp."

The closest Locke came to revealing anything was in a comment that compared his "Heartstopper" character to the one he's playing in "Agatha."

Locke told the outlet that "I would love to do a job that is so far the opposite of 'Heartstopper,' or opposite of 'Agatha,' that I could show some versatility."

Locke added that he would "love to do a dark role" and "bring a lot of edge to it and show that I can do more than just sickly sweet."

Locke dove a little into "Heartstopper," which is set to launch its second season this summer. That series, an instant smash for Netflix, is based on Alice Oseman's graphic novels, and follows the love affair of high school sweethearts Charlie (openly gay, and played by Locke) and Nick (bisexual, and played by Kit Connor, who came out as bisexual in real life last year, after being pressured by trolls on social media to declare his sexuality).

In talking about "Heartstopper," Locke again avoided spoilers, while EW advanced possible developments for the new season by recalling that in the graphic novel the series is based on, "this is the time when Charlie develops an eating disorder and spirals into a depression."

Even so, EW said that Season Two of "Heartstopper" "still has the lightness of being a teen, with a school trip to Paris for Charlie and Nick, and a prom in the works."