Credit: Inside the MagicThe latest crossover between the iconic hamburger chain McDonald’s and Marvel Studios for the upcoming show Loki is pretty weird, and images and videos of the leak are going viral.
There is a simple reason for that. While many blockbuster movies and shows get to partner up with McDonald’s for a Happy Meal Toy or a TV commercial, Loki has gotten the ultimate honor: the God of Mischief is getting his very own flavor of McNugget sauce.
Related: Marvel’s ‘Loki’ Proves It Deserves Its Multi-Million Dollar Budget
Multiple videos and images of McDonald’s new Loki-branded sauce are circulating on the Internet, as you can see below:
@mo0nf0x new sauce alert. try the new Loki sweet and sour sauce at mcdonalds. it’s for our new meals in August in honor of loki. #loki #lokiseries #marvelstudios #marvel #mcdonalds #augustmeal #manager #fypシ #fypage
It is currently unclear whether McDonald’s Loki sauce is simply a teal-green repackaging of their classic Sweet and Sour sauce (which was first introduced in 1983 alongside Barbecue, honey, and hot mustard) or an entirely new sauce. While McDonald’s periodically releases new flavors of McNugget sauce, they tend to be limited-batch offerings, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the hamburger company simply slapped some new labels on an existing recipe.
Lord. Help. pic.twitter.com/rUWeO4tYRF
— Moni🗡️💚 (@MonicaLaraArt) August 7, 2023
The most notable incident in which McDonald’s created an entirely new sauce was for the animated Disney film Mulan (1998), which was billed as “Szechuan” and later had a bizarre pop culture resurgence due to the Adult Swim series Rick and Morty.
However, many McDonald’s and Loki fans are questioning whether the sauce is actually real or whether it is a tie-in to the plot of the upcoming, much-anticipated second season of the Disney+ show.
Although plot details of Loki season 2 are still fairly thin, sharp-eyed Marvel fans noticed that the Sylvie Loki variant (Sophia Di Martino) appears to be wearing a 1970s-style McDonald’s uniform, which makes it probable that the hamburger chain will actually be involved in the plot in some way.
Fans are already theorizing that the McDonald’s Loki sauce might not actually be available in restaurant locations (although the company does seem to be ramping up to some kind of special event on August 14), but is successful viral marketing for the show itself.
no spoilers pic.twitter.com/LJ2u1VhF0Q
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) August 7, 2023
That said, it is not like either McDonald’s or Loki needs a great deal of assistance in terms of market coverage. The trailer for season 2 was just released last week and already has 13 million views and counting, indicating that the Tom Hiddleston show has a devoted fanbase itching for the next adventures of the Norse God/antihero.
Related: Owen Wilson’s MCU Character Rocks Wild New Look In ‘Loki’ Season 2 Images
Loki season 2 will feature returning stars Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Tara Strong, and new characters played by Rafael Casal, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, and Ke Huy Quan. Notably, the show will also feature a variant of Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, whose future at Marvel has been in much doubt since his arrest for alleged assault and harassment.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see if the McDonald’s Loki sauce is a real thing or yet another one of his cunning illusions.
Do you want to try McDonald’s Loki Sweet and Sour sauce on your McNuggets? Let us know in the comments below!