Tag: Loki

‘Loki’ Creator Further Calls into Question the Canon Status of ‘Agents of SHIELD’

Ever since Marvel Studios merged with Marvel TV with their Disney+ venture, we’ve all been keeping an eye out for clues about the canonicity of the ABC and Netflix series. Now that the franchise is venturing into the multiverse with Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, it could get even more complicated. All eyes were on the latest series heading to Disney+, Loki, to offer some kind of details on how it may fit into the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. When the first episode showcased the iconic sequence of Phil Coulson inspiring the Avengers, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to allude to his resurrection in Agents of SHIELD. In an interview with Fandom, the show’s head writer Michael Waldron offered a statement on its absence:

No, look, that is one other tendril of the multiverse, perhaps. I think just seeing mention of Coulson again, the very fact that it raises those questions, is exciting.

Now, he seems to kind of confirm that whatever happened in the series might be part of a different multiverse. Yet, as we theorized a few days ago, the first episode introduces us to the Sacred Timeline that exists to prevent another multiversal war. So, it technically doesn’t yet exist because neither does the multiverse. So, it currently wouldn’t be canon but will once the Sacred timeline starts falling apart. Waldron is also the writer of the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel which will explore the fallout of those events.

Hopefully, when that happens, we also get a visual reference to it in the series, as they might tease the different timelines that might also connect directly into What If. We could get a brief cameo of the resurrected SHIELD from the last season’s finale, or maybe Coulson alongside Chloe Bennet‘s Daisy Johnson. Whatever they decide to do, here’s hoping the picture becomes clearer as the multiverse expands.

Source: Fandom

June 15, 2021
The Introspection Of Loki: When a God Accepts He Is Powerless

In the series premiere of Loki, our titular character continues his journey post Avengers: Endgame. Well, technically, his story following the first Avengers film from a timeline perspective. It’s easy to get caught up in the exposition of the Time Variance Authority. The implications of the timeline, multiversal wars, and what it all means are captivating, no doubt. There was something else that stuck out in a way that was quite jarring. It was our protagonist with his ego and power stripped away. It was a god reduced to a man, a big fish reduced to a guppie in the grand scheme of it all.

Part of what makes storytelling impactful is when we get to know the why. Why is this story this way? What compels his actions? Owen Wilson‘s Agent Mobius interrogates Loki in a way that is more therapeutic than invasive. We know what happened in Avengers, but why? Loki has an obsession and a fixation on ruling and lording over. Yet, we never thought to ask why until now.

Forced to witness his life and its inevitability, Loki is held accountable for his actions. There are no tricks or escapes here. Well, there is that time twister escapade for some escape hi-jinx, but ultimately it’s just a diversion. After finding out that his words directly lead to Freya’s death, we saw a crack in the armor. Then Loki got a trip into his unknown future, a reconciliation with Thor and death at the hands of Thanos. He has a realization at that moment how insignificant he truly is in the grand scheme of things.

There’s a brilliance in the writing team headed by Michael Waldron that needed to get us to a place to care about Loki. Yes, as fans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we will buy into any morsel of story. What is accomplished here surrounds the nuance of this once villainous character. Loki’s past and potential future is summed up perfectly by his brief monologue:

I don’t enjoy hurting people. I don’t enjoy it. I do it because I have to because I’ve had to. Because it’s part of the illusion. it’s the cruel elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear.

NIs Loki turning into a good guy and starting a new hero’s journey? Probably not, as he isn’t the God of Mischief just for kicks. What sets this series off in a fascinating direction is the feeling that we know Loki in a way we didn’t before. Sometimes introspection leads us down the most fruitful doors.

June 13, 2021
‘Loki’ May Have Hinted at Non-Marvel Studios Films Existing Before the Multiversal War

Up to this point, we all assumed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe consists of multiple reality branches simultaneously. As such, we all expected WandaVision to kick it off after Wanda created a pocket dimension out of the small rural town of Westview. After countless guesswork, it ended up as a self-contained story, and there were no real signs of the multiverse just yet. Even 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home teased its existence only for it to turn out to be a lie by Mysterio. Yet, we have a What If series heading to Disney+, and Doctor Strange‘s sequel has the subtitle Multiverse of Madness. So, we believed Loki would finally confirm our suspicions only to surprise us even more. It revealed that the TVA serves to prevent new timelines from sprouting into existence. It seems the multiverse we know has already happened and imploded after a war. Now, it made us wonder what exactly was the multiverse before the Time Keepers got involved?

There are no hints at what existed before the Sacred Timeline got created. If they follow the comics, the current iteration of the Avengers and their entire journey serve the Time Keepers as they seek to ensure their life cycle remains intact. Mobius also hints at the fact that the timeline exists in a constant loop. So, the end of time will always lead back to the beginning of creation. As such, our heroes will continue down their path no matter what over and over again. It did sound like the world was very different in the original timeline before it got that TVA reboot at some random point in its existence. We have no idea what may have led to that event, but there might be some curious hints through the rumor mill, especially surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Everything seems to be pointing to the appearance of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield‘s incarnations of the iconic webhead. Their villains seem almost confirmed at this point. Yet, there is one contradiction their appearance would create. As we saw, branches extend out of the Sacred Timeline when a nexus event happens. Like in What If, any alternative version of the characters will connect to the main timeline. Peggy Carter becoming Captain Britain is only a different event unfolding as some of the same events happened before the nexus that caused the new scenario. So, if we get introduced to two versions of a character with very distinct histories, it would imply that the multiverse was much more unique at one point, as the heroes looked different. Of course, the TVA’s current predicament could contradict this, but it does seem likely that we’re playing with very distinct concepts of the multiverse. Perhaps Garfield and Maguire come from multiversal timelines before the first war, which developed more independently from each other. Miss Minutes used the wording “unique” when discussing their pre-war existence.

Whatever happens in Loki, it may see the resurgence of these original timelines that vanished after the first Multiversal War. Marvel Studios already rebranded older movies as Marvel Legacy projects. So, it may be a way to keep them as distinct franchises but open up the door to allow the potential of multiversal cameos without breaking the universe’s canon. So, it won’t make people think if Hugh Jackman has a brief appearance as Wolverine, he will return to the role moving forward. Speaking of the X-Men franchise, the confirmed third Deadpool entry also gives the theory some weight if you consider that it’s a continuation from the Fox universe that continues into the MCU. As such, he may be part of this original multiverse and ends up in the Sacred Timeline. As an outsider, he starts to unravel the universe even more, especially if you consider his ability to break the fourth wall. We know the first seeds for a Secret Wars adaptation got planted. Just like Thanos, it seems inevitable that the next multiversal war will happen, and we might see some other familiar faces join the fray.

June 10, 2021
‘Loki’s Day One Viewers Surpassed ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’ And ‘WandaVision’

It looks like Loki was already a major success for Disney+, especially if you consider that the series moved away from its usual Friday release schedule. The analytics company SambaTV reported that the premiere drew in around 890K households, which would make it Disney+’s biggest US premier for a Marvel Studios series. To offer a comparison, Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered with 759K and WandaVision‘s 655K. It also beat out the release of Cruella, but it was locked behind the Premier Access service.

Want a closer look at how viewership stacked up for the #Loki series premiere compared to previous #Marvel series on #DisneyPlus? Here's the breakdown of premiere day viewership: pic.twitter.com/cSRIXvrsJX

— Samba TV (@samba_tv) June 10, 2021

The interesting thing about this trend is that it’s a sign of how Marvel Studios’ ongoing release strategy is actually paying off. Each entry in their Marvel Cinematic Universe projects builds up excitement for the next, especially as the various projects start to draw more and more attention. It’ll be interesting to see how its numbers develop over the weekend, as they recorded Falcon and the Winter Soldier racing 1.7M followed directly by WandaVision’s 1.6Mm over the course of three days. At this rate, Loki might even hit the 2M mark if positive buzz carries the show’s momentum.

Now, we have to point out that these numbers may only showcase a small margin of its actual viewership. As such, they can only utilize their own data to compare and contrast its development. Disney+, like many streaming services, does not release its actual viewership numbers and it’s difficult to say how it truly performed. For now, we are dependent on external analysts to offer any insight into how well a streaming series or film is performing, but going by the hype build around Loki, Disney, and Marvel Studios had nothing to worry about.

Source: Deadline, Twitter

June 10, 2021
How ‘Loki’ May Have Decanonized ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ from the Current MCU Timeline

After the first Loki trailer teased the existence of the Time Variance Authority, it made us wonder how the Marvel Cinematic Universe will play around with the various timelines. It will finally explore the fallout from the events of Avengers: Endgame when Loki managed to escape his timeline and ends up in their timeless offices. We’ve hoped it may explore and explain what we can expect from the upcoming multiverse-focused Doctor Strange sequel. Especially if you consider that the film is written by Loki’s head writer Michael Waldron. Yet, the newly expanded introduction to time travel may have confirmed that Marvel TV’s first series may not be canon after all.

The first Avengers film led to the death of Clark Gregg‘s Phil Coulson. After getting stabbed in the back, the SHIELD agents’ popularity led to a campaign that would see his grand return on the small screen. Marvel TV, independently from its film studio, developed an entire series that focused on the mystery of his revival. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. went on to air for seven seasons. It started as a threat-of-the-week series before introducing magic, space, and even time travel. Of course, many wondered if these elements get explored in the time-focused Loki series. Yet, it seems that TVA agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, may have decanonized the series by just stating Coulson died. End of story.

There is also the concept of the Sacred Timeline that may have pruned it from the current MCU. It seems that the universe currently exists in one singular timeline that is kept in unison by the timeless bureaucrats. Things happen because they were meant to happen, as Loki learns painfully by witnessing his futile future. Now, we believed that there was a chance it took place in an alternative timeline. At the end of the final season, we see the complete resurgence of SHIELD yet hints that the Snap never happened in their timeline. Yet, the TVA confirms that the timeline tends to repeat over and over again. So, the events from the MCU so far don’t match up with that season’s finale to even confirm it canon in the main timeline.

So, is Agents of SHIELD officially not canon? Yes and no, as there is one possible way it becomes canon once again. The brief video introduction to the organization by Miss Minutes explains there was once a multiverse war that broke all timelines before they got restored into the Sacred Timeline. They also warn of the events that unfold when the multiverse comes into existence. It’ll be the focal point of Doctor Strange’s film, where he explores the madness resulting from it falling apart. As such, that nexus event could happen in Loki, as teased in one of the trailers when we see the timeline breaking apart at different points in time. The Variants in the upcoming What If series are our first indicator that this single timeline wasn’t going to last. For now, Agents of SHIELD do not seem to be part of the singular MCU timeline, but upcoming events could end up changing it. It may even be intentional if we consider other Marvel-related content. All we know is that the multiverse is inevitable and things can always change moving forward, but it seems the next multiversal war is a definite.

June 9, 2021
REVIEW: ‘Loki’ Breathes New Life Into The God of Mischief In The Best Ways

A year ago, I would’ve told you that Loki was in the bottom rung of all the stuff Marvel was slated to do. At the time of the show’s announcement in 2018, we already saw the character die thrice (!!!), only for him to show up in subsequent films beyond those deaths. “Just how many more times do we have to see Loki run the same game all over again?” said 2020 me who didn’t know better. But then the first trailer of the show came out during Disney’s Investors Day conference last December, which gave a convincing argument that this show was going to be weird and bonkers. Having now seen the first two episodes, I’ve never been happier to eat those words I uttered last year because the show absolutely destroys.

That’s because Kevin Feige, Michael Waldron, and Kate Herron have found new engaging ways to give more mileage to this decade-old MCU character. Mileage that will likely last the character more than many lifetimes in the MCU. This kind of longevity feels organic and untrodden for the God of Mischief himself. Not only that, the show introduces a concept that is so outrageous within the current confines of the MCU, that it almost breaks it in the best way possible. Everything you understand about the MCU will radically change after you watch these episodes.

The way the show treats the titular character is unlike that of what we’ve seen. While previous Loki appearances had the God of Mischief stopping at nothing in his pursuit of glory, the show exposes him for the jobber he truly is. In the world of wrestling, he’s the guy that has to lose to crown the new WWE champion. As the fates would have it, Loki isn’t destined to win; he’s born to lose. He’s only around to make people around look better and the show brilliantly forces him to come to terms with this harsh truth. For a character that’s been nothing but a sore loser and winner, there’s nothing more compelling than seeing him get humbled.

This character turn, unsurprisingly, gives Tom Hiddleston more range for him to be the best version of Loki we’ve ever seen. He gets to tap into that maliciousness we saw from the first Avengers film and the bumbling brattiness he gave the character in Thor: Ragnarok while bringing a new layer of weariness for the character. Hiddleston is absolutely on fire as this version of Loki. There are big emotional moments for the character in the first episode where he gets to really flex those acting chops. More than Chris Hemsworth and any other MCU star, Hiddleston might be the MCU’s greatest casting discovery to date.

What makes Hiddleston better this time around is that he has Owen Wilson to bounce off from. Wilson plays Mobius, an obscure character from the comics that works for the Time Variance Authority. Wilson is very much playing an Owen Wilson character here and I don’t mean that as a dig: Wilson’s quirks as an actor work so well against Hiddleston’s highbrow Shakespearean energy. You have Loki, whose thing is being grandiose and boisterous and then you have Mobius, who is just some dude trying to finish his 9-to-5 job. What’s also great about Mobius is that he’s one of the few in Loki’s orbit that is actually several steps ahead. This dynamic leads to some very fun interactions between the two; Loki is second fiddle next to Mobius and he can’t stand it. The two almost have a Jim-Dwight chemistry that almost seems unthinkable when you think about a character like Loki. Again, it goes back to the creators of this show finding engaging ways to keep you on board. People will adore the tandem these two have.

And then you have TVA, the most bizarre organization to make the MCU to date. Essentially, they are the timeline police. You stray from your predetermined path in the timeline and then they arrest you. The show does a fantastic job in explaining how they operate via an animated educational video akin to Jurassic Park. What intrigues me about the TVA is the larger implications the organization has for the MCU. There are some absolutely bonkers allusions to Secret Wars and Infinity Stones in the show. The TVA as the most powerful ruling order in the MCU’s plane of existence is going to lead to some crazy stuff moving forward.

Apart from being immensely powerful, what really makes the TVA such a bizarre organization is the way the whole thing is packaged. The set design is so striking; a mix between retro 70’s analog and old school sci-fi. Every nook and cranny of the TVA feels very lived-in. Every single thing about the set feels like the polar opposite from what we got in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where they literally had to use the same set over and over again. The people that inhabit the TVA rival those that live in Sakaar; just a bunch of totally lovable weirdos that steal each scene they’re in.

Visually, it’s the first Marvel Disney+ show to actually look truly cinematic. That’s not to say the two Marvel shows that came before this were visually bad. The VFX shots of those shows were astounding and even surpass some of the biggest movies. But beyond those expensive sequences, there are a chunk of scenes in Wandavision and, especially, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that fall short from looking like a movie. As great as Sam’s big monologue was in the finale, that whole moment looked like an episode of Jessica Jones. Loki is the first one of the bunch to feel like a movie.

If WandaVision was Marvel’s attempt at doing an experimental sitcom and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier a return to their blockbuster form, Loki is them taking a stab at a Fincher-esque investigative crime thriller. You’ve probably heard of the premise by now: someone is causing all these problems in the sacred timeline and the TVA needs Loki’s help to hunt them down. The show gets the spirit of investigative thrillers correct. It’s eerie and atmospheric at times. The investigative aspect feels very engaging. It’s not quite a whodunnit as the show is quick to give away who they’re after but the hows and whats within the confines of the TVA’s crazy world is what makes it interesting.

The only thing I’m mixed on is how some of the mechanics of time travel are presented. Like Endgame, it’s simplified enough for you to buy it at face value until you actually start thinking of the nuances. Some of it will eat at audiences if they don’t ever clarify it. But the fact that the show is taking big swings in doing their own twist with time travel is pretty cool. The introduction of the Time Keepers results in the prevalent theme of predestination and fate; whether or not we’re actually in control of our decisions or if some cabal of time gods have it all planned out. It’s nothing we haven’t seen but when applied to a character like Loki, it becomes way more interesting to explore. The stuff they seed for his arc is gonna have some crazy payoffs by the time the finale hits.

Having seen only two episodes, it’s too early to definitively say where Loki stands among the Marvel shows. But if the rest of the season keeps up with what Episode 1 and 2 does, we might have the best one yet. Loki may not ever rule Midgard or Asgard but he may be poised to rule the Disney+ platform if all goes well.

June 8, 2021
5 Non-Time Travel Films to Watch Ahead of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ Premiere

Loki will premiere this week on Disney+. A large part of the conversation surrounding it has been about all the various (and sometimes out-of-left-field) other shows and movies that influenced it, which includes the likes of Blade Runner, Mad Men, Teletubbies, and many more. There are also all the beloved time travel TV series that people have been attempting to marathon before the series starts. Of course, that doesn’t include all the Marvel movies the God of Mischief has appeared in. As such, this list is for those looking to watch something that wouldn’t be the first thing they would consider being an inspiration, but are fun to take a look at and compare in different ways. So, I’m ruling out all movies based on comic book properties or anything that involves time travel. Without further ado, let’s jump into the potential inspirations behind Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ entry.

Brazil (1985)

The science-fiction black comedy film, which was directed by Terry Gilliam of the comedy troupe Monty Python, is about a man who has dreams at night of being a warrior. He also imagines being with a certain woman who he soon spots in real life. Unfortunately, they both live in a totalitarian, bureaucratic society, which soon becomes an obstacle for them to escape. The society in question is not unlike the Time Variance Authority central to Loki, and the film has actually already been confirmed to have been an influence on the series. It’s easy to tell just from the trailers alone, as it appears to be a labyrinth of whimsical order, much like the dystopian future depicted in Brazil.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

This is the only movie on the list not to have any elements of magic or science fiction, but it may be the one with the spirit closest to that of Loki. Ferris Bueller is a high school senior who tricks his parents into believing he is sick. All this so he can ditch school for a day, bringing his best friend and girlfriend along for the ride. This John Hughes coming-of-age movie is all about the excitement and motivation behind getting up to mischief simply for the thrill of it, and that’s certainly a major side of Loki’s character.

Defending Your Life (1991)

Defending Your Life is another movie that has been confirmed as an inspiration for Loki. Director and actor Albert Brooks, who is co-starring alongside Meryl Streep, explores the story about another organization similar to the TVA, Judgement City. It is where people go after they die and are put on trial to receive a judgment on whether they were brave enough during their life on Earth to be deemed fit to move on to the next phase of existence or if they will be sent back to Earth to begin a whole new one.

Much like Judgement City, the TVA is inaccessible from the “regular” world as it can only be found on its own plane of existence. However, the element of this film’s world that Loki’s creative team seemed to take direct inspiration from is the courtroom in which the main character’s trial is held. The room contains a large screen on which scenes from the defendant’s life are played, and the time theater seen in Loki’s trailers is essentially the same thing.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park is sort of like a reverse time travel film. Instead of the characters visiting a different era, the different era is brought to them. It’s a cautionary tale about science as just because something can be done, doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done. Yet, this isn’t the reason why the movie is on this list, though. That honor goes to a scene early in the film in which the characters watch how soon-to-be-opened dinosaur park came to be. The intro features an animated anthropomorphic DNA sequence, which is appropriately named Mr. DNA.

The TVA has its own Mr. DNA in the form of Miss Minutes, an animated and anthropomorphic clock. She prepares time criminals for their trials at the organization. Both are upbeat as they deliver messages (technically exposition for the audience) with sinister undertones. They even have some level of an American southern accent. Universal Studios may be trying to give Mr. DNA a comeback in the queue of their new Jurassic Park ride, but Miss Minutes may very well end up giving him a run for his money in terms of modern-day popularity.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Okay, so this one is a rule breaker because time travel is at play here. But if you’ve seen this movie you know exactly why it’s on the list. And no, it’s not because of the changing of different eras. Midnight in Paris is about a screenwriter who gets wrapped up in nostalgia while in conflict with his fiancée and her family. He ends up in various time periods of the past reliving the days of the great writers. The screenwriter is played by Owen Wilson, and he runs into various historical figures like F. Scott Fitzgerald, played by Tom Hiddleston. Again, I’m breaking my own rule here by including this film, but this is the only other project the two leads of Loki worked on together. So, I couldn’t help myself. And besides, would this truly be a Loki watchlist if it completely stuck by the books?

June 8, 2021
Tom Hiddleston Teases That ‘Loki’ Will Explore the Meaning of His Iconic Horns

Having portrayed Loki Laufeyson since 2011’s Thor, there are few individuals with better knowledge of the cinematic version of the character than Tom Hiddleston. Whereas production teams, writers, and directors have often come and gone throughout the history of the Thor franchise, Hiddleston has been there since the start. Because of this, it’s only natural that when developing a Loki-centered series, he would be a great source of information for the current production team. It was even the focus of the latest featurette where they revealed that they were called the Loki Lectures.

Wow! Owen Wilson joins the MCU as TVA Agent Mobius and @MarvelStudios has a little featurette for everyone on the new member of the #MCU:pic.twitter.com/OB235i3Tta

— Murphy's Multiverse (@MultiverseMurph) June 7, 2021

Besides the obvious issues like his character’s dramatic arc, Hiddleston told us that even Loki’s fight choreography and costumes have been the subject of a few conversations while developing the show. The production wanted to understand how Loki has evolved thus far to take the proper steps forward with the character. An interesting subject of discussion, one that by being mentioned in such specifics might hint at it being focused on in the show, was Loki’s headpiece. Hiddleston had this to say:

People wanted to know about the horns. I do remember that. There was a question of when does Loki wear the horns? Why does he wear them? Is it a ceremonial thing or are they somehow an extension of some emotional intention? Is he particularly malevolent at those times? It was kind of interesting to be asked these questions from outside, I guess, from outside this experience. All will become clear in time.

Throughout Loki’s history, the mentioned headpiece is an Asgardian symbol for the sorcery he wields. So, it would be fair to think that it does indeed serve a sort of ceremonial element, conferring to his figure some extra authority and power. With images released by Marvel Studios of Loki wearing a smaller headpiece on the show, we might probably see him work to regain the status he once held, making his way into a bigger headpiece as he reacquires his title of God of Mischief by the end of the series.

June 7, 2021
Michael Waldron Talks About the Jump From Writing ‘Rick and Morty’ To ‘Loki’

For the past few years, Rick and Morty has become popular through its outlandish nature. The series is most known for its unique approach to comedy and going against the grain. Michael Waldron, the head writer of Loki, is best known for his work on Rick and Morty. As such, he had the perfect background to work on a show that explores the effects of time travel and the multiverse. In the show’s press junket, he explained the difficulties of adjusting from the comedy to a more drama-focused live-action series.

I was coming off of Rick and Morty. I think, out of the gate I was trying to step on the gas of the comedy perhaps too much and I had to recalibrate and shift this thing to a more dramatic place.

Following that, Waldron explained what he loved about the character and how he found his groove while writing Loki.

And thats the great thing about this character, you dont have to write jokes. Loki is going to make regular exchanges funny, fun and engaging just with the way he interacts. So, that was how we approache it. We just trusted Tom to do all the work.

Waldron‘s work on Rick and Morty must’ve definitely helped. Rick and Loki are two characters who are different yet similar in the way they act and their attitudes toward those closest to them. The characters both exude dry wit and a god complex, holding themselves above everyone else and constantly getting themselves into trouble. Loki is surely going to bring back that classic nature we see in the character’s early days and will surely please many fans of the character.

June 7, 2021
Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki’ Was Almost a Marvel One-Shot Short Film at One Point

Marvel Studios has entered a brand new territory with their Disney+ shows. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was already constantly changing but this service opened up new doors and allowed them to explore beloved characters in new ways. So far, we’ve seen Wandavison and Falcon and The Winter Soldier show us a new side to heroes we watched on screen for years. Now, with the premiere of Loki approaching, fans might be interested to know that the trickster had a spin-off planned early on in his time in the MCU. With the recent strides in storytelling, it seems Marvel Studios always played around with the idea of exploring the trickster in a different timeline.

In a press junket for Loki, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that the studio danced around the idea of developing a short film for the character. He even references the former disco nightclub Studio 54 that went on to become a Broadway theatre.

There were ideas, as Tom will remember, for a short film going back almost a decade for Loki in the 70s. Like running a Studio 54 in the 70s. I think we had some concept art of him on a horse.

The project didn’t get much further than that. It wasn’t until director Kate Heron and head writer Michael Waldron joined the project that it had become “Infinitely more interesting” according to Feige through their ideas on how to spin the project. Marvel did explore the concept of short films with their Marvel One-Shots. These were included in their blu-ray releases that offered smaller stories in the MCU. It included the Agent Coulson-focused stories The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer. Of course, the big standout was Ben Kingsley‘s return as Trevor Slattery in All Hail the King. It’s crazy to think how far the franchise has come now that we have high-budget series doing what these One-Shots originally were meant to do.

June 7, 2021