‘Loki’: What you need to know before watching Marvel’s latest series
- Tom Hiddleston’s beloved MCU character returns for his own television show, set after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and also stars Owen Wilson as Mr Mobius
- It premieres June 9 on Disney+ only
We’re looking forward to seeing Tom Hiddleston reprise his iconic role in Disney+'s 'Loki' (2021). Photo: DisneyThe following story contains spoilers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Loki, starring the ever-charming Tom Hiddleston, is set to be released later this week. Before you delve into Marvel’s latest TV series, here are a few pointers to get you up to speed on the God of Mischief’s past exploits.
The show is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and starts with transporting Loki to the headquarters of the mysterious Time Variance Authority, an institution outside the bounds of time and space that oversees the universe’s many timelines.
Why does Loki get his own show?
Out of Marvel’s lengthy roster of characters, Loki gets his own show, quite frankly, because his volatile and unpredictable nature makes him one of the most beloved anti-heroes of all time, aided of course by Hiddleston’s entertaining portrayal of the character.
Now for those who don’t already know, Loki is the adopted son of Odin and brother of Thor, whose comic-book versions are all inspired by Norse mythology.
In the MCU, Loki started off as a villain in Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012) before seeking to make amends and reconcile with his brother in Thor: Ragnarok. In almost all of his appearances, Loki has been known to betray his brother repeatedly.
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Didn’t he die?
The official description states that the series is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Although Loki technically died in Ragnarok, he is brought back for the series because of the time travel sequence in Endgame, which took the heroes back to the events of the first Avengers movie, in which Loki is still an untrustworthy villain.
In Endgame, fans saw Loki disappear in the lobby of Stark Tower, and open a portal with the Tesseract – a mystical object which grants its user the ability to manipulate time and space. In the trailer for Loki, the god is shown waking up in a desert on a strange planet, presumably transported there by the Tesseract.
Since he has the tesseract with him, can we expect that timey-wimey shenanigans will ensue?
In the trailer, Mr Mobius (a barely recognisable Owen Wilson) of the Time Variance Authority makes his first appearance. The TVA is essentially a group of individuals tasked with monitoring the different timelines, and it will be fun to watch them chase Loki through his potential adventures across multiple timelines.
So yes, we expect that there will be some twisted – but hopefully not too twisted – time travel plot-lines.
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Wait ... so is he a villain or a hero?
Because of time travel, the version of Loki that audiences can expect to see during his TV debut will likely be his 2012 iteration: fresh from invading New York with the Chitauri, and still a minion for the mad titan Thanos.
Fans can bet that there will be a fair amount of back-stabbing and deception, which to be fair, is part of what makes Loki a fantastic character to root for (or against).
But it would be great to see 2012’s Loki undergo some much needed in-depth character development in the span of the show, as his film character arcs were often secondary to the other heroes.
Additionally, the trailer shows Loki donning outfits straight out of some of the recent comic books, hinting that Marvel may reward readers of the comics with the odd Easter Egg or two.
Whether you’re looking forward to the time travel, or you just love watching Tom Hiddleston mess with other characters, make sure you don’t miss Loki which drops on June 9 only on Disney+.