Fans have really been thrown for a loop with the new Marvel TV shows, even by their mere announcement alone. For instance, when we first heard, in November 2018, that Tom Hiddleston would be starring in his own Disney+ Loki TV show, most fans were under the impression that his run as Loki had ended in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos killed him.
In fact, this was only the first MCU canon show that confusingly promised the return of a character whose fate was seemingly sealed in the 2018 blockbuster, before Paul Bettany was confirmed for the cast of WandaVision. Just like that bizarre sitcom homage in the months leading up to its release, there is still plenty about this new series, featuring Thor’s troublesome adoptive brother in the spotlight, that remains shrouded in mystery.
So, just what can be said about Loki now without causing too much mischief? We shall break down all the known details regarding the series that have either been confirmed or teased for you below, starting with when it will finally appear.
Loki's Premiere Date Is Set For June 2021 On Disney+
The release date for Loki was stuck in TBA status for a while, with the Covid-19 outbreak pausing the shoot (much like several other Marvel shows) after two months of filming in Atlanta. Production would continue in September 2020 and wrap up in December. Previously set for a May release, now Loki will start streaming on Disney+ officially on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. This is a shift from the previously planned Friday airing.
Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw And More Join Tom Hiddleston In The Loki Cast
In addition to Tom Hiddleston as the title character, of course, Loki will feature a stellar supporting cast including Gugu Mbatha-Raw of Black Mirror and The Morning Show fame as Time Variance Authority judge Ravonna Renslayer and Lovecraft Country star Wunmi Mosaku as Justice Peace. Sophia Di Martino from Into the Badlands and Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant, who played General Pryde in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, also star in roles that have yet to be disclosed.
Easily the most surprising (and indirectly hilarious) casting addition is Owen Wilson, of whom Tom Hiddleston famously does a killer impersonation, as Mobius M. Mobius. Also working on Loki from behind the camera are director Kate Herron, known for Netflix’s Daybreak and Sex Education, and Rick and Morty producer Michael Waldron as showrunner.
The Series Follows Loki After The Events Of Avengers: Endgame
As previously mentioned, Loki’s announcement was met with initial confusion, as we had seen Tom Hiddleston’s character die just months earlier in Avengers: Infinity War. Although many fans rightfully had their doubts about his demise, a cameo in Avengers: Endgame (in which the Loki of 2012 escapes capture after the Chitauri’s defeat) seemed to explain that the show might not be a prequel, as others had speculated, after all.
Indeed, the series does take place after Avengers: Endgame, as implied by a clip of Tom Hiddleston’s cameo introducing the show’s trailer, which is followed by a dizzying assortment of hints to the odd sort of events Loki has in store, ending with the God of Mischief questioning what we, the audience, had expected. To be honest, I still don’t know exactly what to expect from this show, but I do know it will answer a few pressing questions.
Tom Hiddleston Says We'll Find Out What Loki Is Doing With The Tesseract
Loki achieves his escape in Avengers: Endgame by grabbing ahold of exactly what Tony Stark and co. traveled back to 2012 to retrieve: the powerful Cosmic Cube officially dubbed the Tesseract in the MCU. As soon as it falls out of the right hands and into his, he magically vanishes to God knows where.
As Tom Hiddleston would confess during a 2019 interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, the series will soon provide the answer. A trailer released in April revealed that Loki has been captured by the TVA and enlisted to help fix reality after his stunt with the Cube broke it, as Mobius M. Mobius describes.
Loki Will Also Focus On The Character’s Identity Struggles
Despite his many despicable acts over the years, Loki has never been a comic book movie villain entirely devoid of sympathy. It is hard not to feel bad for him after the abrupt discovery of his frost giant origins in the first Thor movie from 2010. This essentially drove him to become even more angry, but has rarely been referenced in the MCU since.
It appears that Loki will take advantage of that opportunity based on series showrunner Michael Waldron's comments on The Writers Panel podcast addressing how the character's "struggle with identity" is what initially drew him to the project. Of course, he would still remain very tight-lipped about other details, much like the show's star has been.
Tom Hiddleston Has Mentioned Loki Being “Six Hours”
In late 2019, before principal photography on Loki had begun, Tom Hiddleston spoke to MTV News, mainly to promote his role in the stage play Betrayal. However, the outlet managed to get a few words out of the actor about the Marvel series (more successfully than his chances at James Bond, at that), to which Hiddleston mentioned it would span "six hours." Now, this could easily be nothing more than a reference to the series' confirmed length of six one-hour episodes, but what if that applies to the story more literally than that?
The first trailer sees Loki taken to the TVA (shorthand for the timeline monitoring organization "Time Variance Authority"), at which Mobius M. Mobius explains "time passes differently," and the second trailer revealed he is being forced into undoing timely issues he created by stealing the Tesseract. Therefore, it is entirely possible that everything the first season covers truly takes place in only a matter of hours, but who knows? The possibilities with the MCU are maddening.
Loki Will Lead Into The Upcoming Doctor Strange Sequel
Madness is what Loki will lead us to next. Not that the show will be frustrating (we hope), but that it has been confirmed as a lead-in to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - the direct sequel to the 2016 hit starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme.
The follow-up from Spider-Man and The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi, which is set for a 2022 release, is apparently also tied to another Marvel Disney+ exclusive series, WandaVision, but Elizabeth Olsen's casting as Scarlet Witch would remain the only clear hint of that by the time of its explosive finale. Perhaps Loki will pull a few mischievous tricks to help bridge that gap.
The unique, creative avenues that series like Loki seem to be taking with their stories almost make me more excited to see what the future holds for upcoming Marvel movies than ever before. I am especially curious to see how a trippy concept like this may affect the continuity of all the previous Marvel movies in order. As always, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop here at CinemaBlend.
