Just when I thought I was out, Loki pulled me back in. That’s how I’m feeling after watching the latest trailer for the next Disney Plus exclusive series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So, a bit of context: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left me cold, and we’re now exactly halfway through its run and I’m hitting a wall of disinterest. I'm even struggling to summon the energy to keep up to date with the series — I didn’t even watch episode three until a few days after its release.
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This week however Marvel dropped a second trailer for Loki, which will be the next MCU TV show to premiere once The Falcon and the Winter Soldier complete its six-part arc, and my Marvel hype has gone into overdrive.
With the first episode due to premiere on June 11, I’m already counting down the days because the newest Loki trailer proves what WandaVision had me suspecting. Marvel TV shows need to be weird.
The same but smaller
In a nutshell, my big problem with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is that it’s essentially something we’ve seen before but on a smaller scale. It feels more than a little bit reminiscent of previous MCU features like Captain America: The Winter Soldier only instead of Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, we get Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan - that’s not a good trade.
The show just feels smaller in scope, like it’s a project that Marvel would only have made for television. I can’t see a situation where The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would ever have made it onto the big screen, it was Disney Plus or nothing.
It’s so straight-laced that I come away from each episode with barely any desire to discuss it, other than a passive “it was alright” if someone asks me my opinion.
On the other hand, from just a couple of minutes of footage from Loki has me reading internet fan theories and discussing with friends what the series could mean for the future of the MCU, and it doesn't even start for two whole months.
Why Loki looks so good
From the latest trailer, Loki looks nuts. In the best way possible.
It’s a crime thriller series in which the Loki from Avengers: Endgame who stole the tesseract is captured by a mysterious company known as the Time Variance Authority and must put right all the timelines he broke during his escape.
As far as elevator pitches go, that’s pretty grabby. It’s a core premise that instantly makes you want to learn more, rather than a premise like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s which feels utterly routine; a reluctant duo goes on a globe-trotting adventure to stop a villain from doing evil stuff — yawn.
Loki looks like it will have the same weird elements that served WandaVision so well. Whatever your take on the whole television series within a television series motif, you can’t deny it was pretty intriguing trying to piece together just what was going on.
Loki is also bolstered by an effect’s budget that looks like it’s got a couple of extra zeros on the end compared to the currently-airing MCU series, and the inclusion of Owen Wilson in the cast. Sure, the actor’s star power may not be what it once was but he’s a household name that gives the series some gravitas.
Loki looks like it’ll be a television event, the type of series that generates (virtual) water-cooler discussions.
A leaf out of WandaVision’s book
WandaVision made me fall in love with television again, as felt intentionally designed to be consumed piecemeal with almost every episode ending on a deliciously teasing cliff-hanger. I actually verbally exclaimed at the end of one episode, such was my desperation to see what would happen next.
While we don’t yet know if Loki will also be stuffed with cliff-hangers — though I bet it will be — we can already say with reasonable certainty that, like WandaVision, there will be plenty to unpack.
WandaVision very much had the “what is going on?” factor that kept me engaged throughout, and Loki looks like it’s going down the same route. Instead of a sluggish by-the-numbers buddy-cop adventure, it’s going to be a weird trip revolving around a demi-god trickster and an organization dedicated to keeping time in check.
That sounds pretty nutty, and I can’t wait to see where Loki’s latest adventure takes us. If only I could get some help from the Time Variance Authority to make the next two months go faster!
