MISCELLANEOUS LOKIS
Could there be any more Lokis in Loki? Fans of the God Of Mischief were spoilt for choice with all the variants that had already been pruned and transported to the Void way before Loki joined them in episode four; some ripped from the pages of Marvel comic-books, others concocted in the series’ writers’ room. “Boastful (Deobia Oparei) was completely original,” says Kate Herron. “I thought, weapon-wise, it’d be really fun if there was a Loki who was worthy and had a hammer. Whether it’s the hammer or not.”
As for another show creation, the fan-favourite Alligator Loki — yes, a Loki that is an alligator — Herron wanted to keep audiences guessing as to whether he was really a variant or not. “It should always feel like [it could just be] an alligator that they put horns on — completely open to discussion,” she says. “It’s like what Mobius says: ‘It’s always the game within the game with you guys.’ That was the fun thing for us.”
Even Hiddleston got in on the fun, playing President Loki, a nod to 2016’s Vote Loki four-part comic run, who gets his hand bitten off by Alligator Loki. “Tom was going to play a bandit,” reveals the director. “But me and [producer] Kevin [R. Wright] were like, ‘He has to be President!” Kid Loki (Jack Veal), meanwhile, has run rampant in the comics since 2010 but is given a new twist for his MCU debut with a sword called Laevateinn. “I pitched the idea of it being the sword from Norse mythology,” says Herron. “Kid Loki and Classic Loki were almost like Ghosts of Christmas Past and Christmas Future. It was fun finding good foils for him.” Present and accounted for.