Loki may center on Tom Hiddleston's anti-hero as he embarks on all sorts of Doctor Who-esque adventures to delve into the secrets of the TVA, but executive producer Kevin Wright says one of the unexpected goals of season 2 was to tee up an eventual reunion between the God of Mischief with his half-brother Thor.
"That's the hope," he recently told Variety, when the publication asked whether Loki will ever return to the larger MCU. "I don't want to... yeah. I think the the sun shining on Loki and Thor once again has always been the priority of the story we're telling. But for that meeting to really be fulfilling, we have to get Loki to a certain place emotionally. I think that's been the goal of these two seasons."
Hiddleston hasn't shared the screen with Thor actor Chris Hemsworth since the opening sequence of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos killed Loki in front of Thor. In Thor: Love and Thunder, eagle-eyed fans spotted that the titular Asgardian had a new tattoo on his back; Loki's horns alongside 'RIP', as a tribute to his "late" sibling.
Starring Ke Huy Quan, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, Owen Wilson and, of course, Hiddleston, Loki season 2 picks up right where the first chapter left off: with Sylvie having killed He Who Remains and, essentially, breaking the Sacred Timeline. As Hunter B-15 and Mobius try to reconcile with the fact that their variants, and attempt to end the TVA's no-exceptions approach to pruning branches, Loki is forced to find Sylvie – a task that proves extra challenging due to the fact that he keeps being involuntarily pulled between the past and present.
While Wright confirms the upcoming installment will conclude its six episodes in an "open-ended" way, it wraps things up on less of a dramatic cliffhanger than its predecessor. "We certainly did not develop this season going, 'We have to [set up] season 3' – in the way that we did with season 1, where there was a very specific, 'Hey, we're coming back.' But I also think that where this show goes, there certainly can be many, many, many more stories told with Loki in the 'Loki' world, and in other worlds connected to Loki, the character."
Loki season 2 premieres on Friday, October 6. For more, check out our guides on Marvel Phase 5, Marvel Phase 6, and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.