Loki Appreciation 2021

[Raye]

HAH! that's great.

Not that I am complaining, but I wonder why Disney/Marvel is promoting Loki so much more than WandaVision or Falcon and Winter soldier. It's had many more trailers, and then stuff like this twitter account. It's just that of the 3 shows, you'd think Loki would manage to do the best with the least amount of promotion. People would watch based on the name and the funny setup in Endgame alone. Wanda and Vision, in the MCU, were much less prominent characters, and didn't have as clear a setup from the movies, unless you count Vision dying. (this isn't a dig at the show or anything, so far I have enjoyed WandaVision the most) Falcon and Winter Soldier were a bit more widely recognized and had the shield passoff to set it up, but still, after the show concluded, it ended up basically in the same place it started, aside from the introduction of John Walker and Sharon's heel turn, so the setup from Endgame may as well have just led into the next Captain America movie, and probably could have done with some more promotion.

And yeah, they changed some things about Managarmr, but still destined to eat the moon in Ragnarok. However, with new Norns, that fate may be broken. I mean, we have a new cycle starting, and the players at the end in this cycle's 'Ragnarok' (it may be called something different. but you know, there will be some cataclysmic event in the future this new batch has to face, probably) could similarly be different. I mean if you dug up mythological accounts of Ragnarok, Loki's all over the place on the side opposing Asgard, but that's not likely to happen anymore, either.

[Yoruno]

You believe that people will watch it just knowing it's Loki, but I think Disney is going to attract audiences wider than Loki's Army. At the weekends I work with children and preteens, two groups of slightly different age, and literally noone knows who Loki is, they didn't grow up with MCU. Among older people I bet there are a lot of those who'd never recognise Loki without his helmet. I suppose Disney have invested tons of creative effort in this show, that's why they're advertising it like this (or, IDK, maybe they lost subscriptions after the previous show which wasn’t exactly as good as it was expected).
I love Jim Henson’s films, too! But I only knew about comics and manga based on Labyrinth, not on any other projects.
Managarmr... well, you're right, they can change their fate now, yet I'm not sure who exactly we see, Hati or Skoll, and if they are unanimous in what they say - which I highly doubt.

[Raye]

Well, I think all 3 shows so far have a different vibe, and i have seen people who didn't like WandaVision that really dig Falcon and Winter Soldier, and the same could hold true for Loki as well. It clearly has more in common with WandaVision's weirdness than it does with Falcon and Winter Soldier's more traditional action show, but still, a different feel. At least, based on what we can gather from promo materials. And Disney Plus hasn't exactly been hurting for viewers: https://insidethemagic.net/2021/05/d...ribers-q2-kc1/ and back in March, they'd already pegged Loki to be their most popular Marvel show to date: https://thedirect.com/article/tom-hi...lus-popularity (not sure how it compares to Mandalorian though)

So I dunno, i guess they could attract some new viewers, but sounds like they didn't really need them. But as i said, not complaining, nice to have some Loki stuff to kill the time until the premiere.

And yeah, still pretty sure one wolk is at least okish and the other one is bad, but they share a body, so....

[Fanto.mx]

New behind the scenes featurette:



Is Owen Wilson casually dressed as a Time Lord?

[Raye]

hah nice.

I note they are using bluescreen rather than the more common these days greenscreen. Of course they would have a very tough time using a green screen for Loki. tho I think the Volume would work great here, especially if Loki wears a full on costume with shiny gold. I mean part of the reason they used it on Mandalorian was because Mando was decked out head to toe in shiny metal that made compositing extremely difficult. As it stands thy clearly had to do a lot of post colour correction on the marble floors to remove the blue reflections. And they are using it on Love and Thunder.

The set shown in the beginning with all the neon intrigues me, some kind of Blade Runner-esque future?

[Raye]

yet another new trailer:


actually some new stuff in this one instead of just remixing the same clips from before. That one TVA officer sure doesn't seem to like him.

[Yoruno]

There's one more on TV now, I think it isn't on YouTube. Loki steals the remote and rewinds the Hunter!

[Raye]

hah, nice! will have to look for that one

*edit - this it?



I get the feeling Loki and Mobius will end up being friends, like Lethal Weapon style, with Loki obviously being the Riggs. Which could be nice for him.

[Yoruno]

No, this is a newer one. In the TV spot, he grabs the remote and rewinds her three or four times just for lulz. What's interesting is that he's wearing his prison uniform again.

Edit: found a half of it
https://mobile.twitter.com/shezzacur...513465859?s=20

[Yoruno]

Kate Herron (the director) follows Daniel Kibblesmith in Twitter. I really hope this time there will be more comic book vibes. Technically, there are no restraints now, as it's a different version of Loki anyway!
Something tragic is going on in TVA tumblr: https://tvaofficial.tumblr.com/

[Raye]

huh, well i cut the cord years ago, so I guess i'll see it whenever Disney posts it, or i see the episode it's in. looks funny though. And it may be early in the series. Earlier trailers kinda made it seem that Loki got caught, then spent some time in the TVA awaiting judgement/punishment, then Mobius offers him the opportunity to act as an agent to sort of do something good. But it is entirely possible that it's more like Loki gets caught, then temporarily escapes for a while, but still just wandering around the TVA because he doesn't know how to leave their special dimension, (could be a good way to do a quick tour of the TVA and see how things function early on from a narrative point too) they catch him AGAIN, and then Mobius offers him his deal. It could explain why that one particular hunter has it in for him, if he messed with her like this, and why he would be in the jumpsuit for this scene as well as the one where he is holding the Tesseract. Or as i said a while back, not all jumpsuit Loki shots are necessarily the main Loki. they could catch other variants over the course of the show, and one of them could be this one.

and a tumblr too? well i guess they know their audience.

but if you look back to the beginning of the posts, it may support what i just said. it had a bunch of of 'no anomalies detected' then it said an 'anomalies detected and detained', then no anomalies again for a bit, then 'Subject detained and transferred to ███████' then no anomalies again, for a while, then 'detained' again 3 more times in a row... so that could imply a capture, then an escape, and re-capture, a few times.

But yeah, something seriously wrong going on there in the more recent posts. I am not quite sure what to make of it. is it meant as a prelude to events i the show or hint of things to come? hm...

oh and with Kibblesmith, keep in mind he is also a TV writer, so she may be following him for that reason as well... but yes, it is still an encouraging sign.

[Yoruno]

The first capture might imply the prisoner who was deleted in front of Loki (yet they prefer to call it "transferred"). Not sure though.
The recent posts can correspond to Miss Minutes' tweets in which she says several minutemen went missing. The one reporting on Tumblr is agent Viathan, or rather Leviathan, as their personal code includes LE. Leviathan is one of the symbols of chaos, but I doubt this agent is Loki, it might be any minuteman.

[Raye]

Yeah... in that case, i am thinking some kind of prelude, and we may learn more about these missing Minutemen as the show progresses, it may be tied to the big bad, and why Mobius figures he needs Loki's help.

Speaking of codenames though, you figure that maybe Loki will end up becoming the MCU version of Mr Tesseract? like, take Tesseract as a codename, because that's what led him to the TVA. in the comics, Mr Tesseract is a sort of subordinate to Mobius. tho in the comics, they are all like clones, but in the show they clearly all look different. Many of them, the hunters in particular which seem to go by letter and number designations rather than names, may still be created BY the TVA for the most part, but not identical looking clones like in the comics. And them taking Loki on as a sort of probationary agent of sorts could lead to a promotion to official status in the future, at which point he may need a codename.

[Yoruno]

Agent Tesseract would be a funny reference, although I seriously doubt Loki is able to be an employee of literally anything. At the same time, in the new trailer he reacts to Mobius offering him some work in such an indignant way ("WORK?!") , that I suspect his attitude is bound to change.

[Raye]

I mean the comics character has appeared in all of one issue, so it would essentially end up being an obscure easteregg. But it would be funny given Loki's association with the Tesseract.

I know it doesn't seem like Loki is keen to work with them right now, and i think he has good reasons, beyond just scoffing at the notion of work, but I am getting the feeling that he may find a sense of belonging, at least with Mobius, and purpose towards the end of the season that he was kind of lacking elsewhere that he may find appealing, even if he still isn't fond of the TVA as an organization, and finds the whole 'sacred timeline' thing to be stupid. Like, people sometimes end up in jobs for companies they disagree with, but they find their co-workers and/or the work itself to still be enjoyable. He may go along with it less for the "work" and more for the sense of having some place that he belongs and doing something he is good at or enjoys. I mean, he seems to be having a blast time traveling in some of the shots. Also, he's the main character, and he probably needs some kind of character arc because of that.