Loki Season 2 will debut on Disney+ on Thursday, October 5, 2023. The six-part series will follow a weekly drop pattern and culminate on November 9. A number of the original actors who appeared in season 1 return for the TV series, which is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Phase Five.
Among them are Tom Hiddleston as the titular character, Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Renslayer, and Owen Wilson as Mobius.
While all the ones mentioned were expected in season 2, the appearance of Jonathan Majors has remained a question since his arrest earlier this year. So, is he a part of Loki Season 2 despite the controversy?
Yes, Jonathan Majors will reprise his roles as Variants of Kang the Conqueror, He Who Remains, and Victor Timely in Loki season 2.
Why was Jonathan Majors retained in Loki Season 2 despite his arrest?
Majors’ character was introduced in the last episode of season 1, titled For All Time. Always. The episode showed him as the creator of the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), He Who Remains.
Sylvie apparently kills this alternate version of Kang the Conqueror only to unleash a multiverse with alternate timelines that the TVA cannot snip. The season 1 finale ended on a thrilling note when Loki noticed that the statue of one of Kang’s variants had replaced that of the Time-Keepers at TVA headquarters.
This arc undoubtedly paved the way for season 2 and especially indicated that Jonathan Majors would have a huge chunk of footage in it. However, in March 2023, there was an update on his arrest for domestic violence.
The Creed III star was handcuffed on charges of strangulation, assault, and harassment by a woman who reportedly “sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition," as per the NYPD.
Majors denied every allegation, but the repercussions weren’t that pleasant. For instance, the United States Army dropped him from their recruitment commercial and his Met Gala invitation was also rescinded.
It was, however, not applied in Loki season 2. In the sophomore edition of the MCU series, Majors will be seen as the above-stated variations of Kang the Conqueror.
This may give rise to a lot of hue and cry, which the team attached to the show is probably aware of. So, when Variety asked executive producer Kevin Wright why Jonathan Majors was retained in Loki season 2, he said:
“It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out. This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography.”
“The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. We went out there with a very specific idea of what we wanted this to be, and we found a way to tell it in that production period. It’s very much what’s on screen on Disney+,” he added.
It should be noted that season 2 was filmed last year, whereas Majors' legal conflict arose this year. Ever since, a cloud of uncertainty has remained over the actor’s MCU future, and this is significant as Majors is portraying the next big baddie after Thanos (Josh Brolin).
This is most likely why the Loki team didn’t reshoot his sequences or make any changes, in spite of the risk of hullabaloo.
Loki Season 2 drops on Disney+ on October 5.
