Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) in the “Loki” series, available on Disney +. – Â © Marvel Studios 2021
Inspired by Norse mythology, the character of Loki appeared in the Marvel universe in 1962. The God of Malice appears, played by the brilliant Tom Hiddleston, in the MCU in 2011 in the original story of Kenneth Branagh dedicated to his brother adoptive, Thor. He dies a first time in Thor: The Dark World in 2013, saved by the public from the test screenings who refused to believe that he would not come back one way or another … First, antagonist of the Avengers, he allied with his adopted brother in Thor: Ragnarok.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Loki dies from Thanos’ glove. A tragedy for the fans. He reappears during a short cameo in Avengers: Endgame. It is an understatement to say that his fans are waiting for the first episode of Loki, new Marvel Studios series available on Disney +. And good news, after the 23 MCU movies, the phenomenal WandaVision and the efficient Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios are still succeeding in changing the game and inventing a whole new universe as captivating as it is teeming.
A new life for Loki
In Infinity war, Loki was indeed killed by Thanos. But remember, in Endgame, during the time travel of the Avengers in full battle of New York to recover the Tesseract, we see Loki vanish with the precious cube. “Loki disappears and we don’t mention what happens to him at the end of this movie. At that time, we did not know that there would be Disney +, nor this series ”, explains Kevin Feige in a virtual press conference at which 20 minutes has assisted.
When Kevin Feige asks Tom Hiddleston to re-thread the God of Mischief horns, the British actor feels “a combination of pleasure and surprise.” “His end in Avengers Infinity War seemed final to me,” he continues. The Disney series therefore features the Loki of the 2012 alternate reality who battled with the Tesseract. He’s alive and well, but where has he gone? What will he do with the powerful cosmic cube?
Well, the answer is in the opening minutes of Loki that Disney + unveiled on Tuesday. He gets pinched by the Tribunal of Anachronistic Variations (or VAT, Time Variance Authority in English), an organization in charge of regulating temporal anomalies, in short, a kind of police force, which chases those who try “in the name of Zeus” to upset “the space-time continuum”, as Doc would say in Back to the future.
An unprecedented situation for Loki
Loki portrays a God of Mischief as never before seen. “What I love about the series is that Loki finds himself stripped of everything familiar to him: Thor is not near him, Asgard is far away, the Avengers, for now, are not in the game. He is stripped of his status and power… Outside of all that, who is he? What makes Loki, Loki? “, Analyzes Tom Hiddleston.
Let Loki fans rest assured, even in this unprecedented situation, he loses neither his playfulness, nor his spontaneity, nor this innate sense of malice, nor his vulnerability. You are guaranteed that the new situation offers “opportunities for chaos and fun”, as screenwriter Michael Waldron points out.
A whole new world for Loki
Loki will discover, at the same time as the spectator, the meanders of the TVA, an organization which does not laugh with the bureaucracy.
The occasion for scenes as absurd as they are hilarious which are reminiscent of the quirky humor of Brazil by Terry Gilliam. And there is no doubt that you will succumb to the charm of the sumptuous retro seventies decorations of the TVA.
Brand new characters
Alongside Tom Hiddleston, three newcomers to the MCU, Owen Wilson, aka Mobius, a VAT agent – who has a little Hutch side to Starsky and Hutch, casting obliges – Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays the relentless judge Renslayer in charge of the Loki case, and Wunmi Mosaku in the role of the suspicious Hunter B-15.
“Before the shoot, Tom generously and patiently explained to me all the mythology of the MCU and Loki, what we call the Loki conference,” Owen Wilson laughs. Knowledge needed because Mobius “is an expert on Loki. He knows more about Loki than Loki ”. Between Mobius and the God of Malice, the relationship is “always a kind of game of chess. »The exchanges between Mobius and Loki are tasty and the alchemy of the duo formed by Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston sparks.
The most important series in the MCU?
The first two episodes of the series directed by Kate Herron and scripted by Michael Waldron are funny, eerie, captivating and visually powerful. Loki thus explores a new facet of the Marvel universe which we can not wait to see the sequel.
“She’s incredibly important. It will undoubtedly have more impact than all the previous series ”, announced Kevin Feige, in an interview with the American media. Empire. As Loki tackles notions of the multiverse and the impact of time travel, one can speculate that she could change the fate of the entire Marvel Universe!