No, I'm not talking about COVID, but instead what new variants of the God Of Mischief we might find in the upcoming second season of Loki.
Shortly after the first season wrapped in summer 2021, star Tom Hiddleston and Marvel chief Kevin Feige announced a second outing was on the way. Now, the burning questions are: when exactly will this be and what story will it follow?
Here's everything we know so far about the keenly anticipated return of Loki.
When Will Loki Return?
At the end of the first season, a single post credit scene announced the character's return, with the words "Loki will return for season two" appearing on-screen. But when will that be, exactly?
Well, we hopefully won't have a long wait, if a recent interview with Hiddleston is anything to go by. Talking toThe Playlist on 28th April, the actor confirmed that the show will start shooting in "six weeks", currently being deep into pre-production.
The actor added: "We’re full steam ahead in terms of a script and story and it’s really exciting. I can’t say too much, but lots of questions to be answered."
At the San Diego Comic Con in July 2022, we got a further update about the show. It will now be part of Marvel's Phase Five and will release at some point in summer 2023.
Who's in it?
Well, obviously you can't have a Loki show without Loki himself - but who will be joining Hiddleston when the series returns to our screens?
So far, the only confirmed cast member to return is the great Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who in December 2021 announced in an interview that Ravonna Renslayer would be coming back. However, she couldn't be pinned down on plot hints, confirming that she "had no idea where it's going".
Based on how the second season ended, expect Owen Wilson's Mobius and and Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie to also appear. Jonathan Majors' Kang also seemed to be set up for a bigger role in future - but that is likely for his villainous turn in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, which will be hitting the big screen in 2023, rather than for a future Loki season.
In July 2023, voice actress Tara Strong also confirmed that she'd be returning as Miss Minutes, although she was yet to record her lines at the point of the interview.
As for new characters, Ke Huy Quan (most recently seen in another multiverse adventure, Everything Everywhere All At Once) was announced as part of the cast at D23. Based on the footage screened there, very little could be confirmed about his character other than that he appeared to be a TVA worker.
What's The Plot Of Season Two?
Based on the season one finale, Loki has been thrust into a new dimension: the Time Variance Authority (TVA) he returns to bears an unrecognisable statue, and Mobius doesn't realise who he is - all signs pointing to the God Of Mischief's erasure from the universe.
Add into this the fact Kang has gone and the multiverse is ready for the taking, you've got a plethora of problems that Loki has to deal with.
Director Kate Herron, who isn't returning for season two, speculated about the narrative direction to The Hollywood Reporter.
She said: "The way I see it in my head is that the TVA exists outside of space and time, but reality and everything as we understood it has completely changed in the last few minutes. With the multiverse branching, how do we know the TVA still exists in that way?
"We don’t know, and I suppose that's a big question that will be answered as the show goes on. But in my head, the intention is that Sylvie thinks she's sending him back to the TVA, but because of the way time and branches are crossing each other outside the window, Loki has unfortunately been sent back somewhere very different.
"So, reality has shifted just by the nature of what He Who Remains said, and the idea is that he’s in this alternate TVA now."
This could set the stage for a really exciting return, that doubles down on the Doctor Who-inspired timey wimey shenanigans of the first season. A description of the footage that premiered at D23 confirms this, although it still remains largely vague on what to expect from the rest of the season.
We'll update with more information on season two when we get it.
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