Interested in learning more? Click on the banner to visit the Loki community!
Loki is an American television series created by Michael Waldron for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. It is the third television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The series takes place after the events of the film Avengers: Endgame (2019), in which an alternate version of Loki created a new timeline. Waldron serves as head writer, with Kate Herron directing for the first season.
Loki premiered on June 9, 2021. Its first season, consisting of six episodes, concluded on July 14 and is part of Phase Four of the MCU. It received positive reviews, with praise for the performances, musical score, and visuals. A second season is in development.
Premise[]
After stealing the Tesseract during the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), an alternate version of Loki is brought to the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline. They give Loki a choice: face being erased from existence due to being a "time variant", or help fix the timeline and stop a greater threat. Loki ends up trapped in his own crime thriller, traveling through time.
Cast[]
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki: Thor's adopted brother and the god of mischief, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. This is an alternate, "time variant" version of Loki who created a new timeline in Avengers: Endgame (2019) beginning in 2012. Because of this, he has not gone through the events of Thor: The Dark World (2013) or Thor: Ragnarok (2017), which reformed the previously villainous character before his death in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Head writer Michael Waldron compared Loki to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs since both were adopted and love being in control. Hiddleston expressed interest in returning to the role in order to explore Loki's powers, particularly his shapeshifting, which plays into the series' exploration of identity. Loki's sex in the series is denoted by the Time Variance Authority as "fluid", referencing the character's genderfluidity in Marvel Comics that had previously been speculated on for the MCU given his shapeshifting ability. Waldron said he was aware of how many people identify with Loki's genderfluidity and were "eager for that representation". The series also reveals Loki as bisexual, becoming the first major queer character in the MCU. The series explores more of Loki's magic abilities, such as his telekinesis and magic blasts.
- Hiddleston also portrays President Loki, another variant of Loki who commands an army and is at odds with Kid Loki. Hiddleston called President Loki "the worst of the bad bunch", describing him as "the least vulnerable, the most autocratic and terrifyingly ambitious character who seems to have no empathy or care for anyone else".
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer: The former TVA Hunter A-23 who rose from the ranks to become a respected judge; she oversees the Loki variant investigation. Director Kate Herron compared both Mbatha-Raw and Renslayer to chameleons, and said Renslayer was always "trying to dance the line" with Mobius of being both his superior and his friend. Herron added that Mbatha-Raw brought a warmth to Renslayer, while also channeling her pain. Lokiexplores the origins of Renslayer, which predates the character's appearances in the comics, and Mbatha-Raw enjoyed being able to start "something fresh" with the character. Mbatha-Raw called Renslayer "incredibly ambitious" and felt there was the "ultimate personality clash" between her and Loki. She continued that Renslayer has "a lot on her shoulders" and has to make "morally ambiguous choices", which forces the character to keep secrets and build up layers. Waldron believed that Renslayer had "the making of a very complex villain".
- Mbatha-Raw also portrays Rebecca Tourminet, a vice-principal at a school in Fremont, Ohio, in 2018. Learning that there were different variants of Renslayer in different times was "mind blowing" to Mbatha-Raw.
- Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15: A high ranking Hunter of the TVA determined to stop the variant that has been killing Minutemen troops. Mosaku called B-15 a "badass" who is a loyal devotee of the TVA, with a strong affinity for the Time-Keepers, whom she believes are gods. Mosaku was drawn to B-15's honesty and ability to be herself, noting, "She doesn't have any social etiquette running through her and her interactions. What she feels and what she thinks is what you see and what you get." Hunter B-15 was originally written as a male character, but changed after Mosaku's audition; she pointed out that the character's gender did not alter the essence of the type of character B-15 was meant to be.
- Eugene Cordero as Casey: A TVA receptionist. Cordero also portrays Hunter K-5E in the new TVA seen at the end of the season.
- Tara Strong voices Miss Minutes: The animated anthropomorphic clock mascot of the TVA. Strong voices Miss Minutes with a "Southern drawl", which Herron felt was a representation of Waldron, since he is from the Southern United States. After being created solely to introduce the TVA, the writers found more ways to include Miss Minutes in the series since they found her to be a fun character. Her design was inspired by Felix the Cat and other cartoons from the early 20th century, with Herron calling Miss Minutes a "Roger Rabbit kind of character". Strong felt the "dire information" Miss Minutes is tasked with conveying was "the perfect mix of who she is", since it is said "with a smile on her face". Miss Minutes has a "protective" relationship to He Who Remains, with Strong believing she understands "how important her role is and how important it is to the universe".
- Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius: An agent of the TVA who specializes in the investigations of particularly dangerous time criminals. Herron likened Mobius to a hard-boiled detective, with Wilson comparing him to the character Jack Cates in 48 Hrs. (1982). Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige noted that the character is similar to Wilson in that he is unfazed by the MCU; Hiddleston helped Wilson prepare for the role by explaining and showing him moments from the MCU films, which Wilson felt was useful for when Mobius interviews Loki in the series. Wilson and Herron examined Good Will Hunting (1997) as inspiration for Mobius being a mentor and therapist for Loki who still pushes him.
- Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie: A variant of Loki who is attacking the "Sacred Timeline" and has enchantment powers. She does not consider herself to be a Loki, using the name "Sylvie" as an alias. While Sylvie was inspired by Sylvie Lushton / Enchantress and Lady Loki from the comics, she is a different person with a different backstory from those characters as well as Hiddleston's Loki. Di Martino said Hiddleston had "looked after" her and gave her advice on playing the character, while she did her own research and preparation for the role. Di Martino kept her regional accent for Sylvie, in order to not sound "too posh or too well spoken" to help reflect the life Sylvie had lived.Hiddleston felt Di Martino incorporated "certain characteristics" he uses for Loki to portray Sylvie, while still making the character "completely her own". Herron believed that Sylvie dealing with her pain put her in a similar headspace as Loki was in Thor (2011). Di Martino looked to the fight scenes of Atomic Blonde (2017) to create Sylvie's fighting style, calling her a "street fighter" with more of a brawler fighting style, compared to Loki's "balletic" style. An extensive backstory for the character was written by series' writer Elissa Karasik, with Waldron hopeful some of the material could be featured in the second season. Cailey Fleming portrays a young Sylvie.
- Sasha Lane as Hunter C-20: A TVA Hunter kidnapped and enchanted by Sylvie to reveal the location of the Time-Keepers.
- Jack Veal as Kid Loki: A young variant of Loki who created a Nexus event by killing Thor and considers himself the king of the Void.
- DeObia Oparei as Boastful Loki: A Loki variant who makes wild exaggerations about his accomplishments.
- Richard E. Grant as Classic Loki: An old Loki variant who faked his death to escape being killed by Thanos and decided to live his life in seclusion until he became lonely. Classic Loki has the ability to conjure larger, more elaborate illusions than Loki.
- Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains: A scientist from the 31st Century who created the TVA to prevent a multiversal war between evil variants of himself. He is an original creation for the series inspired by a separate comic book character of the same name as well as the character Immortus. Describing He Who Remains as a "very charismatic sociopath", Waldron did not show how evil the character can be since much of his role is trying to convince others that his variants are worse than him. Majors talked with Herron and Marvel Studios about finding the psychology of the character, since He Who Remains has been in isolation and running the TVA for so long. Herron added that they tried to find "that fine line between the extrovert and the introvert of that character and how does he show that he's been living on his own". Majors utilized his classical clown training for the part, and believed that he smiled more as He Who Remains than any of his other roles combined. Additionally, he was inspired by The Wizard of Oz (1939), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Citizen Kane (1941), and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) for his portrayal, believing He Who Remains was the "archetype of the wizard and what happens to him when he gets bored... [a]nd he becomes a trickster".
- Majors also voices the "mindless android" Time-Keepers, in a reference to The Wizard of Oz where they are the Wizard and He Who Remains is the "man behind the curtain". Majors was shown the designs of each Time-Keeper and provided various options for each voice.
Neil Ellice recurs as Hunter D-90, while Jaimie Alexander makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Sif, and Chris Hemsworth makes an uncredited voice cameo as Throg.