How Disney's Tight Security Blindsided Some Loki Cast Members
Much like the current state of Marvel television on Disney+, everything is in chaos at the beginning of "Loki" season 2. After the rather disappointing finale of "Secret Invasion," the Marvel Cinematic Universe is looking to bounce back with the continuing adventures of the God of Mischief and the Time Variance Authority (TVA). The first season of "Loki" was a clear standout among the endless array of Marvel stories on the small screen that began with the critically-acclaimed "WandaVision" at the start of Phase Four.
There has been such a deluge of MCU shows over the last few years that "Loki" season 2 feels like a much-needed reset to get the MCU back into top form once again. If you recall, season 1 ended with a Kang the Conqueror variant named He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) being killed by Sylvie, an alternate universe female version of Loki played by Sophia Di Martino. After recently being accused of assault, Majors will still appear in multiple episodes of season 2, but otherwise fans are mostly in the dark about what's in store for them when "Loki" returns.
Star Tom Hiddleston knows his character well after appearing in six movies before debuting on Disney+, but it turns out the new additions to the "Loki" cast had virtually no idea who'd they be playing or what show they were even auditioning for originally. That's partly due to the need for secrecy to avoid any potential spoilers getting out. But it's also just a part of how big budget superhero filmmaking operates nowadays. Along with Di Martino, co-star Wunmi Mosaku and Tara Strong (who plays the fan favorite hologram Miss Minutes) didn't even know who they'd be playing until the official offer got sent out.
Even Lady Loki wasn't up to speed
With so many projects in development, a lot of the details are still being ironed out when actors start being approached for certain roles that may or may not be entirely finished yet. For smaller roles, that goes with the territory sometimes, but for a major role like Sylvie, Di Martino knew "absolutely nothing" when she first auditioned. The actor told Entertainment Weekly:
"I didn't know what the role was, I didn't know what the show was, I didn't know anything. There was a short scene between two people, 'Bob' and 'Sarah' I think it was, on a train. It ended up being the train scene between Loki and Sylvie but I had no idea what I was auditioning for."
The train sequence Di Martino is referencing wound up being in the third episode of "Loki" season 1, where Sylvie (aka Lady Loki) and Loki jump aboard the Evacuation Ark on the dying moon of Lamentis-1. Here, the secrecy during the audition process makes sense. The sequence turned out to be a very telling scene between two versions of Loki who try their best not to reveal their weaknesses to each other. (In truth, they're a lot more alike than they care to admit.)
Eventually, Di Martino spoke with Hiddleston on a revealing FaceTime chat and finally got clued in:
"It wasn't until I was offered the job that I knew what it was."
On the hunt for a role in the MCU
After her phenomenal breakout role as Ruby Baptiste on HBO's "Lovecraft Country," Mosaku was told she managed to get the "Loki" gig without even knowing what the job actually was. "I got the call saying I had been offered a part in 'Loki,' but I hadn't known I was auditioning for 'Loki,' so it was quite a shock," she told Collider. "But very, very exciting. I was finally going to be a part of the Marvel Universe, which felt so good. I didn't know what my character was going to do, but I was like 'I'm in, either way.'"
Mosaku will return in "Loki" season 2 as Hunter B-15 — a no nonsense soldier for the Time Variance Authority tasked with locating and eliminating any variants that threaten to endanger the stability and natural order of our current functioning timeline. The new trailer for season 2 confirms that Mosaku return as Hunter B-15, showing a quick shot of her out of uniform in a yellow dressing gown. Presumably, she will be on the wrong side of the law after learning the truth about the TVA. There should be some highly entertaining team-ups between her, Loki, and Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) during the first batch of episodes.
Even Miss Minutes didn't know what time it was
Every evil corporate entity needs a friendly mascot. For the TVA, Miss Minutes is that welcoming face that greets every new variant that comes through to disrupt the timeline. By the end of season 1, it's revealed that Miss Minutes has been covering up the real truth that Kang is actually behind the TVA, not the Time-Keepers that are supposed to be the trusted stewards keeping the universe in order.
Given the nature of the character, Strong (a veteran voiceover actor) was told as little as possible about the role. She told EW:
"Typically you'll get a drawing of the character, a description, sometimes a portion of the script. I use all that information when I'm doing my audition. I'll have the drawing up to the side, so I can really dive into what production had in mind for this character. But when it came for 'Loki' audition, I got an email minus all of that information. Like, I didn't know what it was for, I didn't know who this character really was, I didn't know anything about her world."
To avoid the possibility of any leaks, the description for Miss Minutes was left intentionally vague. Strong explained:
"I remember calling my agent because it was sort of described as an 'animated Siri-type voice.' I was like, I'm trying to understand this character. Is she sentient? And they were like, 'We don't really know.' I just remember playing around with a few different versions."
Season 2 of "Loki" also features Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Eugene Cordero, Rafael Casal, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, and Neil Ellice. Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actor Key Huy Quan will also be making his MCU debut when the season premieres on October 6, 2023.