When Tom Hiddleston first auditioned for the Thor movie at the tail-end of the 2000s — trying out for the God of Thunder himself, believe it or not, before director Kenneth Branagh thought he’d be a better fit for the part of Loki — he could hardly have imagined that he’d still be part of what became known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe a decade and a half later. Likewise, Marvel Comics readers could never have guessed that this second-tier villain would become one of the MCU’s most popular characters.
But indeed he has, as exemplified by the existence of Loki season 2, the very first of Marvel’s live-action Disney Plus series to get a second run. With the first season being the most-viewed of all the MCU’s shows, plus the second enjoying a one-of-a-kind McDonalds promotional partnership, Loki‘s second season is primed to be the biggest Disney Plus event of the year. But what do you need to do to make sure you’re all ready for the God of Mischief’s return? Here’s your homework…
Thor
To really get in the mood for Loki and remind yourselves of why Tom Hiddleston’s trickster is such an iconic tentpole of the MCU, revisit 2011’s Thor, whose Shakespearean fish-out-of-water story is a breath of fresh air these days after the overegged comedy of Thor: Love and Thunder. In a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Natalie Portman, and, yes, Chris Hemsworth’s musclebound thunder god himself, Hiddleston steals the show as the nuanced God of Mischief you can’t help but love.
The Avengers
So excellent was he, in fact, that Loki returned just one year later as the main villain in The Avengers. As we later found with DC’s disastrous Justice League, having a superhero team come together doesn’t pop quite the same if they’re facing off against a disappointing bad guy, so in many ways we owe much of the success of the MCU’s first crossover film to Loki Laufeyson, as Hiddleston hams it up beautifully. In the wider context of his arc, Loki’s unrepentant assholery here is incongruous but it’s hard to care when he’s so much fun to watch.
Thor: The Dark World
The one good thing you can say about the ups and downs of the Multiverse Saga is that Thor: The Dark World‘s place as the undisputed nadir of the MCU isn’t so undisputed anymore. In hindsight, while the first Thor sequel certainly doesn’t soar and can be a little boring, its later impact on Avengers: Endgame makes it a surprisingly key installment in the Infinity Saga and, by giving us Thor and Loki teaming up for the first time, it’s an intrinsic stepping stone on Loki’s road to Disney Plus heroism.
Thor: Ragnarok
For Ragnarok, Taika Waititi wanted to redress the imbalance of the earlier Thor films by ensuring Hemsworth’s hunk was the most interesting character in his own film. As such, Loki is much more of a supporting player in Ragnarok than he was before. That said, as a member of the Revengers, it’s heartening to see him fully standing alongside his brother, fighting the good fight, and ultimately remaining at Thor’s side to guide the Asgardian people to safety. Or so we thought…
Avengers: Infinity War
Oh, it still hurts all these years later, huh, Loki fans? You have to hand it to Marvel, though — what more perfect way of establishing Thanos’ power levels was there than by having him kill off the Avengers’ original arch-foe? Loki’s self-sacrifice might not be his most intelligent moment — how was that knife ever going to do anything? — but it was certainly an emotional and fitting conclusion to the character’s fascinating journey that he goes on across the Infinity Saga. But a new saga was just beginning…
Avengers: Endgame
Hiddleston’s Loki has but a mere cameo in Endgame; still it’s an all-important one. Just in case you’ve somehow never seen the second biggest movie of all time: When the Avengers’ Time Heist goes wrong, The Avengers-era Loki gets away with the Space Stone, thereby creating a new timeline. Marvel lovers were ecstatic at the promise of more Loki in the future of the MCU at the time, and not long after we learned that his very own series was being developed at Disney’s new-fangled streaming service. Hey, whatever happened to that?
Loki season 1
If you only have time to catch one entry on this list before diving into Loki season 2 then obviously that should be Loki season 1. Although his Infinity Saga arc informs the character, the Loki variant we follow on Disney Plus is really his own individual, one who’s hardly an anti-hero anymore and is just a plain ol’ hero, as he befriends Mobius, falls in love with Sylvie (well, who else was Loki going to fall for but himself?), and ultimately battles to save the timeline. Who’d have thought this would be where he’d end up when he was pulling people’s eyes out in The Avengers?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Last but not least, though, it might also be a good idea to revisit Quantunmania, or even check it out for the first time if you’ve not done so before (perhaps put off by its less-than-stellar reputation). Following his debut as He Who Remains in Loki season 1’s finale, Jonathan Majors returned as Kang the Conqueror himself in the Ant-Man threequel and the exploration of the Kangs continues in Loki season 2, which features the introduction of Victor Timely, With any luck, Loki will make up for the temporal tyrant’s ant-defeated antics in his last movie appearance.