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Loki is Marvel's next Disney Plus show, and if WandaVision represents a pinnacle of the audacious studio’s willingness to gamble on bold and challenging concepts, Loki is gleefully accepting the baton and running with it.
"It is a big crack of the bat, a big swing," promises lead writer Michael Waldron while talking to Total Film magazine. "Our writers’ room was next to WandaVision’s. And you’re like, ‘That show looks so fucking good. We’ve got to do something crazier! We’ve got to step on the gas, because we know that what they’re doing is so cool.’ We tried to take chances every step of the way."
In true Marvel fashion, plot specifics are being kept tightly under wraps. "There’s a propulsive momentum to [the show], which is about trying to find out more information," explains Hiddleston, obliquely. "There’s a man-on-the-run quality to Loki, and he is caught in a complex new labyrinth, and is trying to find his way around without exposing himself to vulnerability or exploitation." Part of the test for Loki involves clashing with characters who will challenge him afresh.
Up first is Mobius, a member of the TVA – that's Time Variance Authority – played by Owen Wilson. "Mobius is almost a professional academic about Loki," Hiddleston says, "and is thrilled to find the real thing sitting in front of him – a bit like an expert in some rarely seen animal in the wild, and he finally comes face-to-face with the thing he’s been studying all his life."
"Mobius is a detective in the TVA," says Wilson. "The way Mobius fits into the story is that he’s a little bit like Nick Nolte getting Eddie Murphy out of jail in 48 Hrs. to help him investigate. Working with him, of course, is a little bit of a chess match to gain his trust, and Loki seeing how far he can go with Mobius. And who’s manipulating whom? And whose purposes ultimately are going to be served?"
The person Mobius reports into is Judge Renslayer, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, The Morning Show). "It’s unlike any other character I’ve played before," Mbatha-Raw tells Total Film. "She has quite a lot of power, so that’s been interesting, because she’s somewhat of an authoritative character. But then we start to see the cracks that begin to show within that."
Acting as an enforcer for the TVA is Hunter B-15. "Mobius is in a coat and tie and almost would be like a G-Man," says Wilson. "Whereas, Hunter B-15 is a badass soldier. They have the same goals, but very different methods and ideas on how that is going to be accomplished." Wunmi Mosaku (His House) plays Hunter B-15. "She’s by the book," says Mosaku. "She’s kind of like a lead hunter. I bring [Loki] in. It’s kind of straight after [he disappears from Endgame]. We pick up immediately after that. You see I have the Tesseract in my hand, and I come in."
Loki launches on on Disney+ from June 9, with the first of six weekly episodes. For much more on the show, and exclusive interviews with Hiddleston and the cast, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, director Kate Herron and head writer Michael Waldron, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Total Film magazine, which hits shelves real and digital on Friday, May 28.
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