Loki, along with additional Marvel Studios original series on Dinsey+, has stepped farther away from Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, challenging what is possible for Phase 4 and beyond. The first season left the series if not the future of the Marvel Universe, open for a multiverse that will enable the expansion of new characters and new worlds. The second season of Loki was only vaguely teased in the post-credit sequence following the end of the season one finale, followed by a post-credit teaser at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Fans have finally been greeted with a trailer for the second season. Season 2 is quickly approaching, and there are still many questions regarding what is in store.
Update August 21, 2023: This article has been updated to include more information regarding Loki Season 2 following the new trailer for series.
Loki is notable as, along with What If...?, it is the only MCU series to be greenlit for season 2 officially. Series like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were intended as miniseries. Fans are still waiting to hear about season 2 renewals for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Ms. Marvel, and Moon Knight. Loki getting a season 2 renewal was not a surprise as Loki season 1 is still the most watched MCU Disney+ series, so anticipation for the new season is high. Here is everything we know about Loki season 2 so far.
Loki Had a Major Impact on the MCU
The series, which picked up directly after the events of Avengers: Endgame, follows an alternative version of Loki Laufeyson, who has been played by Tom Hiddleston since Thor. Loki is found facing off with the Time Variance Authority (or the TVA), battling with his identity and a variation of himself in an alternative timeline. Not to mention the looming threat of He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conquerer, whose true identity was revealed in the finale's waning moments. Shortly after the episode drew to a close, the mid-credits spent no time sharing the announcement that Loki would return.
Outside of the extremely brief tease from Marvel Studios and Disney, the noise around Loki Season 2 had been drawn to a hush for a while, leaving the aftermath of Season 1 to leave its impact on the latest phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it unfolds piece-by-piece. While it was not the first entry in what is now dubbed The Multiverse Saga, Loki is the catalyst for many of the events. The season 1 finale leads into series like What If..? and movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Characters Old and New
Hiddleson is reprising the role of Loki. With him, he is bringing a number of familiar faces. Sophie D'Martino (Sylvie Laufeydittor) and Owen Wilson (Mobius M. Mobius), as well as Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Judge Ravonna Renslayer} and Wunmi Mosaku (Hunter B-15), are confirmed to return. These central characters have deemed themselves incredibly detrimental to the future of Loki. Tara Strong will also reprise her role as Miss Minutes. Of course, Jonathan Majors is returning to the series after appearing at the end of season 1 as He Who Remains and as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
While it is expected that Marvel will want to keep some new characters a secret to surprise audiences, a few characters have been officially announced, or at least the actors have been. Rafael Casal (Blindspotting) is set to play a mysterious new character named Brad Wolfe, who, in the trailer, is shown to be an actor starring in a movie called Zaniac. Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones) and Liz Carr (Good Omens) have also been cast, but their roles remain unknown.
An unexpected but welcomed addition to the crew is Ke Huy Quan. Ke Huy Quan is hot off his Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All At Once and was actually cast in Loki season 2 in September 2022 and was his first project cast after Everything Everywhere All At Once. He is playing a character named Quroboros "OB," a TVA agent in charge of technology and repair. While fans are anxious to see what story will unfold in the new season, Quan's participation is highly awaited. His role working for the TVA has only added more intrigue, especially with new Loki merchandise that indicates viewers will get to see way more behind the scenes of the Time Variance Authority.
The Return of Kang
The major plot point that audiences are hoping to see resolved is the variants of Kang the Conqueror. With Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Masters) claiming ownership of the TVA, there is bound to be some chaos. Amid the fervor, the second season will sink more into the development of Marvel's latest big-bad, beginning the procession of the villain arc.
Of course, Kang has already been shown multiple times, with a few variants being revealed in the first season of Loki, and more Kangs than one can count in a post-credit scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The post-credit scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania showed Loki and Mobius watching Victor Timely, a Kang variant who is an inventor in the 1900s. It seems to be this version of Kang will invent the time travel that many of his counterparts will use.
Season Two Trailer
The trailer for the second season has given fans their first look at what the God of Mischief will be up to. The trailer starts with Ke Huy Quan's new character, who is referenced by Mobius as OB. Things get a little stranger when Loki starts to glitch. Unlike Ghost from Ant-Mand and the Wasp, Loki isn't phasing in and out. Instead, his limbs stretch out of proportion, making him look like an error in Sims 4. OB calls this "time slipping," and it seems to imply that time itself is breaking.
This is similar to how characters from other multiverse "glitches" in the Spider-Verse projects, which are now connected to the MCU through the Web of Life and Destiny as references to Tom Holland, Tobey Magurie's and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, were made in that movie.
An exciting part of the trailer that many fans didn't expect to see is a return to Loki using his full powers. In the first two Thor films, Loki was a clever fighter, constantly using magic to trick others. In the trailer, he uses his iconic green magic and seems to duplicate himself. Fans can look forward to their favorite trickster being a lot more active in his adventures.
When Will Loki Season 2 Arrive?
Loki season 2 will premiere on Disney on October 6, 2023. Notably, this is the first MCU Disney+ series that will premiere on Friday since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier back in 2021. Loki season 1 was the first MCU to move to Wednesday and did so well in its premiere that it prompted Disney+ to make Wednesday the launch date for their biggest series. The sole exception was She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which aired on Thursday so that Andor could air on Wednesdays and not cannibalize one another for viewers.
Why Disney+ has decided to air Loki season 2 on Friday is unclear. Yet now that Kraven the Hunter has been delayed from October 6, 2023, to August 30, 2024, it now means there will not be two separate Marvel projects premiering on the same day. Loki season 2 will run for six episodes, meaning if it only premieres one episode, it will air its season finale on November 10, 2023, which is the same day The Marvels arrives in theaters.