If there is one constant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is that Kevin Feige and the powers that be never let fans go too long without a visit from the devilishly charming God of Mischief. It’s been nearly two years since Tom Hiddleston’s Loki first introduced fans to the possibility of the multiverse through variants, the Time Variance Authority and Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains in “Loki” Season 1. Since then, we’ve seen Peter Parker (Tom Holland) recreate the famous multiple Spider-Man meme, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) traverse the multiverse to defeat Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Majors portray a Kang variant known for conquering the Quantum Realm in “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.”
All of this is to say that it’s nearly time for our regularly scheduled visit from everyone’s favorite mischief maker. So ahead of “Loki” Season 2, here are five things you need to know about the show’s long-awaited return.
1. It’s premiering in summer 2023
We have lived so many lives since the 2012 version of Loki from “The Avengers” escaped with the Tesseract and landed himself in trouble with Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) of the Time Variance Authority. “Loki” was the third TV series set within the events of the MCU to debut on Disney+ after “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.” Since then, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) saved Christmas, Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) defeated Ethan Hawke, Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) brought a sense of youthful exuberance to superheroing and She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) had sex with Daredevil (Charlie Cox). And this doesn’t even touch what has transpired on the big screen (ankle wings!!). It’s difficult to comprehend just how much the MCU has changed since Loki fell in love with his own variant (Sophia Di Martino), who then killed He Who Remains and exposed the timeline, ensuring chaos and danger would reign in the process. And it’s equally hard to comprehend how “Loki” Season 2 fits into the big wide world of the MCU now. But we’ll find out when the show finally returns for its second season this summer (exact premiere date is TBD).
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2. The cast (mostly) remains the same
As long as the sun rises in the morning, Tom Hiddleston will continue to play the mischievous Loki, but the rest of the main cast is returning for “Loki” Season 2 as well. That includes Wilson as Mobius, Di Martino as Sylvie, Majors as an unspecified number of Kang variants, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer, Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Eugene Cordero as Casey and Tara Strong as the voice of Miss Minutes. But there are a few new faces joining the fray as well, most notably Oscar nominee Ke Huy Quan, whose character works at the TVA. Elsewhere, Rafael Casal and Kate Dickie have joined the series in undisclosed roles.
3. It’s a major part of the connective tissue of the Multiverse Saga
If Thanos (Josh Brolin) was the thread that connected the movies of the Infinity Saga, Kang and his many variants are what ultimately connects the films and TV shows of the Multiverse Saga. The character was memorably introduced in the Season 1 finale of “Loki” as He Who Remains, a charismatic and well-dressed variant who weaponized Alioth to end a multiversal war started by his other variants. He then created the TVA to maintain universal order and ensure the Sacred Timeline remained intact. But by killing He Who Remains as revenge for the TVA destroying her life, Sylvie opened a massive can of multiversal worms, and Loki returned to the TVA at the end of the season to find statues of Kang had replaced the Time Keepers and a version of Mobius who didn’t know him.
While it’s unclear whether the events of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” are meant to take place before or after the events of “Loki” Season 1, we met another, much more formidable Kang variant in the film. This Kang had been exiled to the Quantum Realm by his own variants, as confirmed in the mid-credits scene, which featured a trio of variants (Immortus, Rama-Tut and a Centurion) discussing the Avengers’ growing interest in the multiverse. But it’s the end credits scene that ties the movie specifically to “Loki” Season 2. In it, Loki and Mobius attend a lecture on the nature of time by yet another variant, this one known as Victor Timely, and while Mobius doesn’t yet understand why Victor and the variants are dangerous, Loki is desperately afraid of him and the danger he possesses.
According to the film’s director, Peyton Reed, the scene is lifted directly from the new season. “Victor Timely is yet another variant from the comics,” he told our sister site IndieWire. “I love Jonathan’s look and his sort of period voice and his Frederick Douglass hair. That scene, there was just another glimpse of sort of, “OK, there are all these variants and here’s maybe the next one you might meet.’ We liked that idea.”
So it seems that all roads currently lead back to and away from “Loki,” which is probably exactly how Loki would like it.
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4. The new season picks up where the first one left off
Members of the cast appeared at Disney’s D23 Expo in September to tease the new season. While they naturally couldn’t and wouldn’t say much (especially with Feige nearby), Hiddleston confirmed that Season 2 picks up where the first season ended. “Loki is back at the TVA, he’s had a very difficult confrontation with Sylvie, and Mobius and Hunter B-15 don’t know who he is.”
“It’s a little bit like that Talking Heads song,” Wilson added. “And in Season 2 we’re going to answer, ‘How did I get here?’”
5. We’re going to McDonald’s (and beyond)
OK, we don’t know how important this is to the actual overarching plot of Season 2, but photos taken during production last summer reveal that Loki visits Sylvie in what appears to be a 1970s version of McDonald’s. Meanwhile, additional footage of a snazzily dressed Loki (or three) was in a Disney+ sizzle reel released late last year. It’s not much, but when taken together, it does promise a lot more Hiddleston and a ton of exciting new adventures when “Loki” returns.
“Loki” Season 2 will debut on Disney+ in summer 2023.
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