One of the MCU’s most beloved characters has always been Loki, as played by Tom Hiddleston. Now Thor’s good for nuthin’ brother is among the first Marvel characters to get his own series on Disney+. In fact, Loki was one of the very first announced for the streamer. The Asgardian God of Mischief will be getting his own spotlight story at long last. The series will premiere on Disney+ in June 2021.

During Disney’s Investor Day presentation on December 10, 2020, Kevin Feige announced the series would be a crime drama, something the MCU has never done quite this way. Here’s a first look.

During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Kevin Feige brought up Tom Hiddleston to briefly discuss his new Loki series for Disney+. As we maybe predicted, the Loki series will star the version of Loki that escapes with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame. This means he’s pretty much still a megalomaniacal bad guy, and hasn’t had any of the character development from the subsequent Thor films.

We also know that Loki will be traveling through time in this series, apparently impacting known historical events. One piece of concept art shown at Comic-Con features Loki in the streets of New York, in what looks to be 1975. We know it’s the mid ’70s because a movie theater marquee is showing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, which came out that year. We also know that Loki will connect directly to WandaVision and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This makes sense, as the Loki from Endgame is technically an alternate timeline version of the Loki Laufeyson we all know.

At Comic-Con, Hiddleston said, “You guys saw Avengers, right? He’s still that guy. And just about the last thing that happened to him was that he got Hulk-smashed, so there’s a lot of psychological evolution that hasn’t happened yet, but Kevin Feige has generously showed me what his plans are—I can’t tell you any of them—but it is one of the most exciting creative opportunities I think I’ve ever come across.”

The Disney+ Super Bowl commercial showed a brief clip of Loki wearing a Time Variance Authority uniform. This indicated his is either a prisoner (or maybe a member) of the so-called “time cops” from the pages of Marvel Comics. One way or another, the TVA is playing a large role in the Loki series.
Who Is Starring?

Actor Owen Wilson has joined the series in a major role, according to Deadline. So who is The Wedding Crashers star playing? It could be Doctor Donald Blake, the former flame of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, whose identity Thor assumed in his first film. Or it could be Baldar the Brave, Loki and Thor’s Asgadrian friend. He’s a pretty major part of the Asgardian mythos from the comics, and a character we’ve yet to see in the MCU. But right now, Wilson’s role remains a mystery.

20th Century Fox

Actress Sophia Di Martino has joined the cast as a co-star according to Variety. The British actress has appeared in Channel 4’s Flowers, and the feature film The Darkest Universe. It’s unknown what role she is playing.

Channel 4

Via Variety, we’ve also learned that veteran stage and screen actor Richard E. Grant has joined the series, in an undisclosed role. According to Variety‘s report, Grant will only appear in one episode of the show, and we don’t yet know any details on his character. Still, it’ll be a treat to have the longstanding favorite—star of modern classics like Withnail & I and Gosford Park, as well as more recent films like Logan, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the wonderful Can You Ever Forgive Me—in the mix.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, most recently seen in The Morning Show and A Wrinkle in Time, has been added to the Loki series in an undisclosed role. This coming from a report in Deadline. It is possible she is playing a member of the Time Variance Authority, the secret organization that protects the timestream that was shown to be in the show in the Disney+ Super Bowl teaser. Whatever part she plays, this series just got that much classier by her inclusion.

Walt Disney Company

There is no word on whether we will see a cameo appearance from Chris Hemsworth as Thor or not. Even if it’s just a small appearance, the God of Thunder showing up in some capacity makes sense.

Who Is Behind-The-Scenes?

Michael Waldron, who is one of the producers of Rick & Morty, will oversee the Loki series and serve as showrunner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

According to Deadline, the first episode of Loki will hit the streaming service Disney+ on June 11.

We are still not sure whether or not the Loki series is meant to be a limited series, or if it designed to continue on. My feeling is that each season will be treated like a long movie, with a potential second season entirely dependent on response to the first.