Owen Wilson Expects One New Loki Season 2 Character To Be An Instant Fan Favorite
"Loki" has always had a whole lot going for it. The Tom Hiddleston-led show has a stacked cast including Owen Wilson and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, a fun plotline that's directly related to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, and importantly, the first season had the privilege of being one of the only Disney+ Marvel shows that aired before everyone got kind of sick of them. In season 2, though, "Loki" will have a new secret weapon, one that has the potential to make it even more endearing: Ke Huy Quan.
Quan's role in the show hasn't been officially disclosed yet, though it seems like he might be playing a character called Ouroboros, who has his own place in global mythology and Marvel comics history. In the trailer for season 2, Hiddleston's Loki and Owen Wilson's Mobius visit Quan's character at what seems to be a whimsically cluttered-looking storage room, where Mobius calls him O.B. and explains the recent affliction that's making Loki twitchily move through time. We only see Quan on screen for a minute, but he's already hilarious in the deadpan, slightly absurd way that "Loki" can be.
Ke Huy Quan's character could be a hit
We're not the only ones hyping up Quan: Wilson himself did so when speaking to Entertainment Tonight back in March, telling the outlet that he expects people to love Quan's character in "Loki" season 2. "It's so exciting," Wilson said of Quan's casting, noting that having him join the cast "was incredible." According to Daniel Richtman's Patreon (per TheDirect), Quan's character is rumored to be the "Q of the TVA," a reference to the iconic James Bond character who provides that franchise's legendary spies with state-of-the-art gear. We see this in the trailer, as after O.B. descends from a hanging chair and declares that "it's impossible to timeslip in the TVA," he also seems to provide Mobius with a sort of space suit. Only, it's got a crack in it that O.B. covers with duct tape, a quirky, questionable fix that feels less like something from a Bond film and more in line with the show's Douglas Adams-like sense of humor.
Wilson told ET that Quan filmed his part of "Loki" in the summer of 2022, before his massive award season run that culminated in an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor. "Every time I saw him winning something, it was another speech that just kind of was a tearjerker that was so moving," the actor shared. He added:
"Even when we were working on this last summer — I think his character that he plays in 'Loki' season two — I think people will be excited. Even though that was so great, obviously, the character that he won an Oscar for, I think people are going to love his character in this."
Who is O.B.?
While Quan has kept his character's identity a secret, he's previously spoken about what it was like to film "Loki," telling the "Happy Sad Confused Podcast that "we laughed so hard, and I didn't want that shoot to end." He also revealed that Hiddleston himself had a bit of a fan moment over Quan, geeking out about his "Indiana Jones" role and acting "so cute and kind" toward the actor. In his own interview with ET, Quan said "Loki" season 2 is set to be "really good," and that "if you're a 'Loki' fan, I think we will make you very happy."
It's likely that Wilson predicted Quan's character will be lovable because Quan himself is so lovable, but if O.B. does turn out to be Ouroboros, that's all the better. If the name Ouroboros sounds familiar, it's probably because the symbol of the ouroboros — a snake eating its own tail — has been co-opted often in popular culture, lending fictional organizations a vague sense of mystery. Originally, as Encyclopedia Brittanica notes, Ouroboros was an Egyptian symbol emblematic of rebirth, unity, and constant change. It was later used in alchemy.
In Marvel comics, the ouroboros has appeared sporadically, mostly in association with villains. As ScreenRant notes, Silver Surfer once went head to head with an Admiral Ouroboros in a time loop-themed saga, while Doctor Doom attempted to snatch a magical item called the Oculus Ouroboros in a 1993 issue of "Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." More recently, "Marvel Contest of Champions" introduced a villain group called Ouroboros featuring members like Red Skull. I have a hard time believing Quan's O.B. (who, again, may not actually even be Ouroboros) is anything but a plucky hero, but we'll find out for certain when "Loki" returns on Disney+ on October 6, 2023.