Tom Hiddleston’s ‘Loki’ Journey Likely Over for Good

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Tom Hiddleston's Loki in Loki Season 2

Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios just made waves after revealing its plans to overhaul its entire television business, but earlier comments from other executives quietly confirmed that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki journey is soon to be over for good.

Loki, OB, Mobius, and Hunter B-15 in 'Loki'
Credit: Marvel Studios

After WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the first two projects in Marvel’s TV exploits, debuted and wrapped, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe turned its head to the God of Mischief. First appearing in Thor (2011), Tom Hiddleston’s Loki became a mainstay for the franchise, appearing in the likes of The Avengers (2012), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2019).

Hiddleston’s Loki is a fan-favorite character, which meant it was no real surprise when a show was announced in his name. Loki, created by Michael Waldron and directed by Kate Herron, debuted in the summer of 2021, running for six episodes.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) shirtless in the TVA 'Loki' Season 1
Credit: Marvel Studios

Hiddleston was joined by the likes of Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer, Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror Variant, He Who Remains.

Loki was where Marvel but the Multiverse in the Multiverse Saga, opening up elements like the Time Variance Authority (TVA), the Sacred Timeline, and, in Season 2, the Temporal Loom.

After a record-breaking debut for its first season, Loki is now back on Disney+ with Season 2. Dealing with the aftermath of Sylvie’s actions at the End of Time, Loki must figure out a way to locate her, all the while helping the TVA to stop the rise of Kang.

He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) in 'Loki' Season 1
Credit: Marvel Studios

And it seems by mid-November, the Loki TV legacy will be over after comments have quietly surfaced from multiple executives saying that the Loki TV show was always planned just to be a two-parter. This makes sense, considering Marvel always has a plan to get from A to B.

“…but just from a storytelling standpoint, I think we always conceived of seasons 1 and 2 as a whole. That these are two chapters of the same book, and that season two is finishing that book,” Kevin Wright, executive producer on Loki, told Deadline.

This was further corroborated by Mohamed Diab, one of the directors of Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight miniseries. When asked about the development process and potential future of a second season or even a feature film, Diab stated that Marvel’s overarching plan dictates everything.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki Laufeyson in 'Loki'
Credit: Marvel Studios

“Marvel had determined it from the first day. Marvel’s series projects are all six episodes except for special projects like WandaVision,” the Moon Knight director told ArabicMarvel.com. “The usual format is six episodes. Loki is the only series they said will be in two parts from the first day. Marvel’s way is not the usual way where if the project succeeds, I say let’s renew it for a second season. It’s their plan, successful or not, they have a plan.”

When Loki Season 2 was announced at the end of Season 1 in a post-credits sequence, fans were both shocked and elated, but now, in hindsight, it seems this was the plan all along; that, even if Loki were not as well received as it initially was, would have likely still continued to fulfill the story Marvel Studios needed it to tell.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in 'Loki' 2.01
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: After 10 Years, Marvel Finally Confirms Loki’s Sexuality in MCU Canon

This type of television making has come crumbling down in the last 24 hours after Marvel Studios announced it would be abolishing its film approach to making TV shows and going to a more traditional TV format of pilots, bibles, and showrunners.

Since beginning with WandaVision, Marvel Studios has not used showrunners as a classic TV show would; instead, the studio has opted for head writer and director duos coordinating these multi-million — essentially movie budget — six to nine-episode seasons. To many, it seemed Marvel wanted to create a six-hour-long movie with the same budget as a two-hour feature film. Something Diab also commented on when he said, “I could have done this action ten times better [in Moon Knight] but in less time.”

Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector/ Moon Knight stood in a field at sunset in Disney+'s 'Moon Knight'
Credit: Marvel Studios

As a result of this overhaul, Marvel’s most anticipated project, Daredevil: Born Again, is being completely rebooted with a new writing and creative team. Feige announced an 18-episode Daredevil series at last year’s Comic-Con in Hall H to rapturous applause, but since then, the series has done nothing but cause concern to loyal fans of the Man Without Fear.

What the future looks like following Marvel’s problematic Secret Invasion series is anyone’s guess. At present, there are still numerous projects announced, including What If…? Season 3, Echo, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (formerly Agatha: Coven of Chaos), and Ironheart. Whether these will all survive the new structure is yet to be confirmed.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in 'Secret Invasion'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Marvel Removes Chris Hemsworth, Goes All in on Tom Hiddleston

Loki Season 2 continues to air on Disney+ weekly. Like the first season, it will consist of six episodes. Eric Martin serves as head writer on the sophomore season, with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead leading the directing team.

Do you think this is the end of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki series? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

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