WARNING: SPOILERS FOR LOKI SEASON 1: EPISODE 6.
Loki has become the first MCU Disney+ show to be renewed for a second season and fans were surprised by a mid-credits confirmation scene in the finale episode of its first season, which premiered on the platform on Wednesday. A red stamp on the title character’s TVA file revealed the news, which then sent Marvel fans spiralling into figuring out exactly when they could expect to see the devious Asgardian on the small screen again.
For the second season, a year’s wait at least is expected, as Marvel’s Disney+ slate marches on to What If…? (premiering 11th August), Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye for the rest of this year, followed by Moon Night, She-Hulk and Secret Invasion in 2022. Though most details concerning the second season remain up in the air, a few matters have been confirmed. Kate Herron, the first season’s director and executive producer, told Deadline that she will not be returning in the helm for a second season, as she moves onto “other, unannounced projects”. Michael Waldron is expected to return in some capacity as part of a deal that includes him writing Kevin Feige’s (Marvel’s executive producer) Star Wars film, as confirmed by Deadline.
It’s also unclear whether Loki himself (Tom Hiddleston) may crop up in another series or in ‘Phase Four’s’ cinematic releases. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been confirmed to tie in with Loki’s first season, with fellow Disney+ icon, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), returning as a key ‘multiversal being’. The film also shares the same head writer as Loki, Michael Waldron.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Majors, who guest-starred in the finale as He Who Remains, will debut as Kang the Conqueror (a multiversal villain/hero/anti-hero with multiple reflections of his personality) in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023. By this time it would make sense if Loki’s second season had already returned, perhaps as a lead-in to Kang’s arrival. Viewers had been treated to the first sight of (most probably) the MCU’s first major post-Thanos villain in Loki’s finale. After being shoved through a time portal by Sylvie (Sophie Di Martino) back to the TVA, Loki was faced with Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku). They were clueless about his identity and the sight of a singular statue honouring Kang, which replaced the previous trio depicting the three (fake) Time-Keepers. What exactly substantiates this reality remains to be seen – but that will not stop Marvel fans and TV critics alike from guessing.
Words by Matthew Prudham.
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