Credit: Marvel StudiosTwo years ago, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki series opened up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the Multiverse, and the franchise hasn’t been the same since. Now, a new report shares an update about the spiritual sequel to Loki Season 1.
Kevin Feige’s MCU is navigating turbulent waters. This year alone, Marvel Studios has had its worst-rated movie in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and TV show with Secret Invasion. It could be argued that no one truly imagined the MCU could fall this far from grace, considering the massive ending it provided with Avengers: Endgame (2019), but then again, Phase Four showed a steady deterioration of success all around.
Back in 2021, when Phase Four began with WandaVision, Disney+ scored its biggest debut ever with Loki. Beginning on a Wednesday instead of the usual Friday release day, Tom Hiddleston’s arrival on the streaming service provided the MCU with a huge bump.
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The series follows Hiddleston’s God of Mischief after he encounters the mysterious Time Variance Authority, or TVA, and gets sucked into a plot to protect the Sacred Timeline. Created by Michael Waldron and directed by Kate Herron, Loki introduced multiple Variants of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) brother, focusing on the Lady Loki-inspired Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), as well as Hiddleston’s classic character. Owen Wilson also made his MCU as Mobius M. Mobius.
Loki also provided the landscape in which the MCU revealed the machinations of the Multiverse, even going so far as to debut Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror Variant, He Who Remains. It was here that the MCU delved deeper into the Multiverse, eventually naming the Infinity Saga’s successor as the Multiverse Saga — a term that has gone on to leave a sour taste in many fans’ mouths.
However, before frustration towards the Multiverse Saga really took flight, Marvel debuted the “sequel” to Loki — What If…?. The animated series, created by A.C. Bradley and directed by Bryan Andrews, fully committed to the Multiverse concept, with each standalone episode focusing on a different “what if?” moment from the MCU.
Inspired by the Marvel Comics event of the same name, What If…? explored stories like what if Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) took the supersoldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, played by Josh Keaton in What If…?), and what if T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) became Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt, played by Brian T Delaney in What If…?).
The show proved vital to the MCU’s Phase Four, especially with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), both of which played with concepts of the Multiverse. In fact, Captain Carter — Peggy Carter’s What If…? alter ego — made her live-action debut in the latter.
While What If…? Season 2 was tapped to hit the Disney streaming service in Early 2023, that never happened. Amid friction behind-the-scenes with Marvel’s TV output and oversaturation, only Secret Invasion has been released so far. Next up will be Loki Season 2 in October and Hawkeye spinoff, Echo, in November. A recent report has given a disappointing update for What If…? Season 2.
According to Toonado, What If…? Season 2 is still a way off with a reported late 2023 or early 2024 release date. While this may seem close, it is still disappointing in the way there is no concrete release for the series. The official Disney website still has the “Coming Soon” tag on the Season 2 page. Likewise, there is no date yet for other Marvel television projects like Ironheart and Agatha: Coven of Chaos. However, production on the latter has been robust.
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Audiences can expect 10 episodes in Season 2, with the long-awaited Iron Man (Mick Wingert) and Gamora (Cynthia McWilliams) canceled episode to feature in the sophomore season.
As for Loki Season 2, the recently dropped trailer received a record-breaking viewership, which is good for the Marvel studio. Although, there is a sense of unease surrounding the release of the second season in relation to Jonathan Majors’ role. The rising star was arrested in New York City on alleged domestic abuse charges earlier this year. Majors played a huge role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and also appeared in the post-credits teaser scene from the upcoming Loki as Kang Variant, Victor Timely.
The second season of the Loki series will be led by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Eric Martin will serve as head writer. Kate Dickie, Ke Huy Quan, Rafael Casal, and Liz Carr all join the cast for season two of the Disney series.
What do you think about this What If…? update? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!