The Shadow Of Jonathan Majors Looms Large In Loki Season 2's Premiere
The following article contains spoilers for "Loki" season 2, episode 1.
"Loki" season 2 is finally here. It's very likely that you have been impatiently waiting to see the charming Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief again, especially since we've been waiting over two years to find out what became of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) after she stabbed He Who Remains, who just so happens to also be Kang the Conquerer, the big bad of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
On March 25, 2023, Majors was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with a woman. An official police statement said that the woman "sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition." The situation has gotten more complicated over the months since then, and that's making things difficult for Marvel.
So far, Majors has been seen only briefly in trailers for the series, and we're all waiting for a statement from the studio about possibly recasting him. Surely it wouldn't be possible to make sweeping changes to Phase 5 and 6 of the MCU, which were planned with Kang as the rising villain, including the sequel that bares his name, "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty." Whatever happens, Kang is still here in the form of Jonathan Majors, at least for now.
The first episode of "Loki" season 2 doesn't have Jonathan Majors appearing in-person outside of the "previously on" segment that recaps the first season's important points. However, his presence is felt quite a bit in the premiere.
He Who Remains is everywhere
The second season of "Loki" wrapped in early October of 2022, months before the allegations against Majors. So He Who Remains looms large over the production, even though he wasn't there in person for episode 1. There is a statue of Kang as the episode begins, and Loki sees a panel behind the desk of Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who also wasn't in the episode) with five Kang faces on it.
We also hear a recording of Kang's voice when Loki turns on a reel-to-reel recorder. Loki hears Kang's voice saying, "You are quite alarming. I will be proud to lead with you. You made a difference in this war. Thank you for being on my team." Then Loki rewinds a bit and hears Kang say the words before that part. "For us. For all time." Then a woman says, "Always." You can see what's coming, right? Then we hear that Kang's words came after he says, "Ravonna Renslayer."
As you may know, Ravonna and Kang are romantically involved in the comics, and from the tone of his voice, we may be seeing that happen. Plus, we know from the trailers that we're going to see the Victor Timely version of He Who Remains in the early 20th century, and Ravonna appears to be there as well, in period costume.
Adjusting to events outside the MCU
That isn't all. In the Time Variance Authority (TVA) courtroom, we find a mural of the fake Timekeepers everyone thought was running the TVA, but Loki reveals the He Who Remains mural behind it. The whole thing was an illusion. He Who Remains is also spoken about constantly, like when Loki tells Mobius about how Sylvie thinks He Who Remains is the devil and how she killed that version of him despite his efforts to stop her.
This whole thing has to be a nightmare for planning at Marvel. We don't know what is going to happen with Majors' legal case, but the MCU is moving swiftly along with titles in place through 2026. There are only so many options for what to do in the future.
He Who Remains is basically still the major villain of "Loki" season 2, and that isn't going to change. However, with no idea what is going to happen with Majors' legal woes, they may have to hedge their bets.
Maybe we'll get a replacement, which would be odd since we saw in "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" that all the Kangs have the same face. Though changing what Kang looks like could be explained by mentioning that the other versions were weaker, and this new Kang is even stronger and more powerful. They could also change the direction of what's coming and pick a new villain like Galactus or Doctor Doom to be the big bad. Hey! What about Mephisto? We've seen him in every hexagon and ... forgive me, but I did think we were going to get Mephisto in "Loki" season 1, after seeing that devil in stained glass window in the church the series premiere. (I don't think they'll do that, but they could.)
"Loki" season 2, episode 1 is currently streaming on Disney+ with new episodes premiering on Thursdays.