#Loki Is a Sci-Fi Series, Disney+ Showrunner Says ‘Expect the Unexpected’

Things may have been quiet on the movie front for the MCU this year, but Disney is gearing up to bring audiences three spinoff shows based on characters from the superhero franchise. Recently, the shows, namely WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki got their own landing pages on the newly minted streaming platform, and Loki Showrunner Michael Waldron marked the occasion by sharing an interesting tidbit about the upcoming series.

“We have a landing page on [Disney ]! And an old trailer. But I like the green nebula. It indicates that this is a science fiction (‘sci-fi’) show. You know what they say about ‘sci-fi’: Expect the unexpected when it comes to science fiction.”

So it seems Loki will lean into the MCU’s science fiction elements while telling the tale of the God of Mischief on the run across space and time. This bears out with the franchise’s backstory for Thor, Loki, and their home world, rather than the original Norse mythology that inspired the characters.

While in Norse mythology, the source of Loki, Thor, and Odin’s power is said to be ancient, elemental magic, the first Thor movie in the MCU had Chris Hemsworth’s lead character explain to Jane Foster that what humans see as magic is actually just really advanced science, and that his people, far from being Norse gods, are actually aliens from a highly advanced world who have interacted with Earth in past times, inspiring the legends of the gods of Valhalla.

Later MCU films muddied the waters a bit with the introduction of Doctor Strange, with the confirmation that actual magic does exist in that universe. It now seems the adventures Loki embarks on in his solo series will align more closely with science fiction tropes rather than mythical fantasy, and take place after Avengers: Edngame, as stated in the show’s official synopsis released by Disney.

“In Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki,’ the mercurial villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ Kate Herron directs and Michael Waldron is head writer. Debuts on Disney next year-2021.”

We have already had one indication of the kind of sci-fi shenanigans Loki will be up to in his series. In some of the promo footage from the show, Loki appears to have been captured and is wearing a prison suit with a TVA logo. In Marvel comics, TVA refers to the Time Variance Authority, a transdimensional group of scientists that oversee the various time streams, and punishes those who violate its rules. The TVA is also associated with Kang the Conqueror, a formidable foe in the comics, who is rumored to be in the running to be the next big bad of the MCU after Thanos.

Marvel Studios’ Loki features Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the main cast. The series is expected to arrive on Disney in 2021. This infor was first presented on Comic Book Resources.

Topics: Loki, Disney Plus, Streaming