Prepare to be disappointed, Fantastic Four fans, because Loki director Kate Herron has confirmed the identity of the mysterious spaceship that was glimpsed during the opening moments of the Season 1 finale, and sadly it has nothing to do with how Reed Richards, Sue Storm, brother Johnny and Ben Grimm became exposed to cosmic radiation and gained superpowers.
Eagle-eyed Marvel Cinematic Universe enthusiasts freeze-framed and zoomed in like they were in a 1990s cyber-thriller where the tech guys simply shout “Enhance!” and the image becomes crystal clear, leading to all sorts of speculation that the unnamed craft was tied to the impending implosion of the multiverse, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four reboot and more.
However, in a new interview director Herron was confronted about what the spaceship was, who it belonged to and why it was deliberately placed where it was, and her answer was a little deflating.
“So I would say that, for the spaceship, it was a fun Marvel nod. We had an homage to Contact, but I was like, ‘Okay, how can we get this a bit more MCU flavor?’. So it was kind of picking some, I would say if people look at the ship, they will recognize it. It’s been in a few things.”
Yep, it looks and sounds like a Quinjet, the all-purpose mode of transport favored by S.H.I.E.L.D. Then again, we could always put on our tinfoil hats and try and connect the dots to something like Secret Invasion, which is expected to open with noted Quinjet supporter Nick Fury residing in outer space to try and combat the threat of a Skrull infiltration, something that’s presumably about to be made much harder by the fact time as we know it within the context of the MCU has been altered forever.
It’s not the Fantastic Four, then, but this is still Marvel we’re talking about, so the Loki tease of interstellar adventure may come back around and be paid off in the future.
