Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki marked the return of the fan-favorite god of mischief in his own standalone series. Starring Tom Hiddleston as the eponymous Loki in the first villain-centric project developed by Marvel Studios, Loki has become a massively important and significant series as the MCU develops and grows in its fourth phase.
Created by Michael Waldron, and directed by Kate Herron, Loki explores an alternative version of the character last seen in Avengers: Endgame and his journey of self-discovery in the cosmic bureaucracy of the TVA. With six episodes of time-traveling hijinks to enjoy on Disney+ right now, there are many things that fans of the series may be surprised to learn about the first solo-outing of the Avengers’ original villain.
Tom Hiddleston Explained The MCU To Owen Wilson
One of the Midnight in Paris, the bickering character dynamic between the two stars is easily one of the most likable things about the show. However, taking on the role of Mobius left Owen Wilson slightly unprepared for the amount of MCU lore and backstory that has been established up to this point. Fortunately, leading man Tom Hiddleston was on hand to explain everything.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Wilson stated “It was really right before we started filming when I met with Tom Hiddleston, and he walked me through a lot of the mythology and explaining Loki’s full story.” Considering that Mobius is meant to be an expert on all things Loki, it makes sense that the actor portraying him would want to be as knowledgeable as possible on all things Loki.
Inspiration From Jurassic Park
The artificial intelligence that observes and monitors the TVA for He Who Remains, Miss Minutes serves as an expository bot to explain key information at important times to the main characters. Her style is reminiscent of retro 2D animation and fits perfectly into the dated aesthetic of the TVA. Interestingly, her character, and her role in the series, was inspired by Mr. DNA from the original Jurassic Park, as confirmed by director Kate Herron (via The Wrap).
The way that Miss Minutes explains the purpose and function of the TVA is ripped straight from Mr. DNA in Jurassic Park who educates the central characters on the world of Jurassic Park. Miss Minutes also speaks with a southern American accent much like Mr. DNA did in the Steven Spielberg classic.
A Planned Cameo From Rocket Racoon Never Happened
Loki features a large cast of new and returning characters, but if concept art shown in Marvel Studios ASSEMBLED was realized we would have had a cameo from everyone’s favorite gun-toting member of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon.
The concept art is clearly from Loki’s arrival at the TVA in episode one and shows a number of different characters dressed in their TVA jumpsuits, with a certain Racoon standing in front of Loki in the line. In the final cut of the episode, the room is empty barring Loki and one other unruly variant. Why this cameo was cut from the final product has yet to be revealed.
Approval From Elon Musk
The billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is well known to be versed in pop culture, appearing in Rick and Morty. He’s also a fan of Loki, based on a Tweet from July 2021, where he compared it to a live-action Rick and Morty.
Elon Musk's Twitter comparison between Loki and Rick and Morty is certainly something that audiences have noticed about the show. The fact that Loki features a quarreling pair at its heart, much like Rick and Morty, and also features characters traveling through portals to travel between time and space is just a few of the comparisons between the two sci-fi shows.
Literary Influences
Loki is a show that owes a great debt to a host of different literary and cinematic texts. Many of these have been acknowledged by director Kate Herron (via The LA Times) where she cites Blade Runner, Brazil, and Metropolis as cinematic influences for Loki. But there are a host of literary references in Loki as well.
The most notable literary debts are owed to the George Orwell masterpiece 1984, and the absurdist work of Franz Kafka. The allusions to the Orwellian nightmare at the heart of 1984 are clear in Loki, with posters adorning the walls of the TVA headquarters, warning people they’re being watched and observed, much like the “Big Brother is Watching You” mantra at the heart of 1984. The bureaucratic absurdism of the TVA equally owes a heavy debt to the work of Franz Kafka, particularly The Trial.
Changes Post-Covid
Much like the other MCU Disney+ shows produced to date, including What If?, the production of Loki was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of 2020. With production shut down for four months, many things in the show changed or were altered, including some action scenes that were removed.
Series director Kate Herron noted (via the Marvel trope of a big action set-piece in the final act, and focus on a set of characters talking instead.
Inspiration For He Who Remains
One of the most surprising reveals of Loki is the revelation that the man behind the TVA is a variant of the famous Marvel villain Kang the Conqueror, known as He Who Remains. Portrayed by Jonathan Majors, who is set to reprise his role in the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, He Who Remains is a figure who guards the sacred timeline, preventing any strands of the multiverse from diverging and leading to multiverse conflict between his variants.
For inspiration in portraying He Who Remains, Majors (as revealed in Marvel Studios ASSEMBLED) looked to cinematic influences, most notably The Wizard from The Wizard of Oz, but also Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane, and Willy Wonka from Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. The erratic and isolated nature of He Who Remains takes influence from these iconic figures in cinematic history, exploring the archetype of the wizard who becomes bored and turns to trickery.
The Concept Of The Show Drastically Changed From Its Initial Announcement
When Loki was first announced back in 2018 by then Disney CEO Bob Iger, it was said to follow Loki as he “pops up throughout human history as an unlikely influencer on historical events”. It’s clear that this initial idea for a Loki series changed heavily during the production process to the point where this synopsis bears no relation to the show as it debuted in 2021.
It’s most likely that the hiring of Kate Herron as director and the expansion of the role of this series in the wider MCU resulted in these changes to the series. What was initially announced as a somewhat flippant series involving Loki changing historical events evolved to become one of the most important MCU projects in their phase four line-up.