Just when I thought I was outside, Loki pulled me inside. That’s how I feel after watching the latest trailer for the next exclusive Disney Plus series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So, a little context: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left me cold, and we are now halfway there and running into a wall of disinterest. I’m even struggling to gather the energy to keep up with the series – I didn’t even watch episode three until a few days after the release.
This week, however, Marvel released a second trailer for Loki, which will be the next MCU TV show to premiere after Sokol and the Winter Soldier complete their six-piece bow, and my Marvel hype has gone too far.
With the first episode due to premiere on June 11, I’m already counting down the days as Loki’s latest trailer proves what WandaVision suspected. Marvel TV shows have to be weird.
The same, but smaller
In short, my big problem with Sokol and the Winter Soldier is that it’s basically something we’ve already seen, but on a smaller scale. It seems a bit reminiscent of previous MCU features like Captain America: Winter Soldier, instead of Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, we got Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan – it’s not a good trade.
The show feels smaller in scope, as if it’s a project Marvel would do just for television. I don’t see a situation where Sokol and the Winter Soldier would ever arrive on the big screen, be it Disney Plus or nothing.
It’s so upright that I leave each episode barely wanting to talk about it, other than the passive “it was okay” if someone asks me for my opinion.
On the other hand, from just a few minutes of Loki’s footage I get to read the theories of internet lovers and discuss with friends what the series could mean for the future of MCU, and it doesn’t even start for a full two months.
Why Loki looks so good
From the latest trailer Loki looks crazy. In the best possible way.
It is a crime thriller series in which Loki from Avengers: Endgame who stole a tesseract is a mysterious company known as the Time Variance Authority and must correct all the time frames he broke through during the escape.
As for the elevator terrain, it’s pretty grabbing. It’s a basic premise that immediately makes you want to learn more, not a premise like Sokol and Winter Soldier that feels extremely routine; the reluctant duo embarks on a trotting adventure to stop the villain from doing evil things – yawning.
Loki looks like it will have the same weird elements that served WandaVision so well. Regardless of your position on the entire television series in the motif of the television series, you can’t deny that it was pretty intriguing to try to piece together exactly what was going on.
Loki is also boosted by a budget effect that seems to have a couple of extra zeros at the end compared to the currently broadcast MCU series, and the inclusion of Owen Wilson in the cast. Sure, the actor’s star may not be what she used to be, but he’s the house name that gives the series gravity.
Loki looks like it’s going to be a television event, the kind of series that generates (virtual) discussions about the water cooler.
Sheet from the book WandaVision
WandaVision made me fall in love with television again because it felt deliberately designed to be consumed in one piece, in almost every episode that ends on a deliciously teasing hanger. I actually exclaimed verbally at the end of one episode, such desperation I wanted to see what would happen next.
Although we don’t yet know if Loki will be full of cliff hangers – though I bet it will – we can already say with reasonable certainty that, like WandaVision, there will be plenty to unpack.
WandaVision really had “what’s going on?” a factor that hired me the whole time, and Loki seems to be going the same way. Instead of the sluggish adventure of a cop with numbers, it will be a strange journey that revolves around a demigod-cheater and an organization dedicated to time control.
That sounds pretty crazy and I can’t wait to see where Loki’s latest adventure will take us. If only I could get help from the Time Variations Directorate to make the next two months go by faster!