Loki has been a fan-favorite character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since he first appeared in 2011’s Thor. Fast-forward to the second season of Loki on Disney+ in 2023, and the god of mischief has grown from wanting to enslave New York City to preserving the timelines, finally being burdened with glorious purpose.
On Saturday, April 13th, The Paley Center for Media hosted the Loki panel at PaleyFest LA. Audiences were treated to the second season finale episode and a panel discussion afterward with Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Eric Martin (executive producer and writer), Justin Benson (executive producer and director), and Aaron Moorhead (executive producer and director). Moderating the panel was Vanity Fair’s Anthony Breznican.
In the Loki series, the Norse god faces a new obstacle with the TVA, an organization located outside time and space tasked with preserving the Sacred Timeline. As a result, it has transformed Loki into a hero.
“Yes, I think actually part of the fun of developing a character was putting him under more pressure,” Hiddleston said during the panel. “We’re in the TVA; The TVA is about time. Time is running out and the clock is ticking and Loki [is] under enormous pressure to fix these problems. All this internal turbulence that he’s felt all his life, the mask is slipping and it’s all coming out. And there’s more sincerity and more honesty and more authenticity, which then changes how he engages with every character in the story.”
Loki is burdened with a life of loneliness to give the different timelines a fighting chance, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about. This is a different Loki from the one we saw in 2011’s Thor, and he needed a new Loki God costume.
“One of the first conversations we had, it’s Christine and I, of our season two was the monster costume for the finale,” Hiddleston said. “The Loki God costume, but it would be distinctly different from everything that came before. All the other costumes in the MCU are elaborate and armored and detailed with embellishments, almost as an expression of who he wants to project in the world and this was more humble and almost monastic. Yes, in a way, he’s a king and finally ascending the throne but perhaps he’s more like a monk at the end of time.”
One of the highlights for Tom Hiddleston was dressing up as and portraying Loki in front of thousands of fans in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con.
“I love doing it, that particular thing I think you’re referring to,” Hiddleston recalled to Breznican of portraying Loki at SDCC. “It’s a long time ago. I think it was in 2013, and thank you for bringing it up. Completely unforgettable and possibly unrepeatable experience. I’ve never before had a… if you guys have ever had this experience, but Loki is a character I have played exclusively on camera, on screen. And so when I have been in character, I’ve been in the company of actors and crew on a set, except for July in 2013 when I was actually in the world on stage performing live as the character. And it was rather confusing. It was a surprise how the audience response… I didn’t expect it. It was amazing. I think I planned in my head that if I played my cards right, I could try and get the audience to chant Loki’s name. I came out from the wings on stage, and before I said a word, they started chanting Loki’s name. ‘I’m going to have to rethink this.'”
