Why Loki Is Returning In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki will reportedly appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which makes a lot of sense given how Loki season 1 ends. The movie is shaping up to a major event for the overarching storyline of MCU Phase 4, as many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s movies and shows are now dealing directly with the ramifications of a full-blown multiverse. But why exactly would Loki be returning in Doctor Strange 2, and what could his role be?

Though Marvel’s multiverse has been alluded to at various points throughout the franchise, it came into full focus after the hints at Nexus events in WandaVision and mainly over the course of Loki season 1. In the season finale, it was revealed that the TVA and the Time-Keepers were created by a variant of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) called “He Who Remains”, in an attempt to keep the other versions of himself from destroying the entire MCU multiverse through inter-reality warfare. Still driven by grief and rage, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kills the Kang variant and restores the multiverse, reopening the possibility for mass chaos at the hands of the other, far more villainous Kang variants in the process.

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Given that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will, as the name implies, deal directly with the effects of the multiverse’s restoration, it makes perfect sense for Hiddleston’s Loki to return. He’ll likely be searching for Sylvie while stuck in his new, altered timeline, in which a new Kang variant has taken control of the TVA. Loki appears to feel great remorse at the end of the show for his role in restoring the multiverse, so it’s possible that he’ll join forces with Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in their journey through it. It’s also possible that Hiddleston could be playing other Loki variants in Doctor Strange 2 rather than the main Loki seen through the MCU.

It’s also worth noting that Michael Waldron, the creator and head writer of Loki, also penned the script for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Because Waldron worked so closely on both projects, it’s likely that they’ll tie directly into one another. Besides the return of Doctor Strange after the multiversal events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the first full trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured Scarlet Witch, Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Mordo, America Chavez, and Christine Palmer. It seems that the Doctor Strange sequel will follow in No Way Home‘s footsteps and serve as a direct continuation of the main hero’s MCU story as well as a team-up movie. Hence, it would be fitting to see Loki and Sylvie reunite with each other and join forces with Doctor Strange once the multiverse falls apart.

Spider-Man: No Way Home confirms what Loki established: multiversal variants can either look exactly the same or be completely different from each other. The scene where Doctor Strange holds together the multiversal rift created by his memory-wiping spell (which teased the appearance of multiversal versions of Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, and Scorpion) also suggests that there are infinite characters with at least one connection to each hero. However, the variants of the God of Mischief that starred in the Loki Disney+ show were so well-received that them getting replaced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is unlikely. What’s for certain is that the events of Loki are crucial to the transformation of the MCU multiverse in Phase 4, which makes Loki, Sylvie, Mobius, and the death of He Who Remains quite likely to be revisited in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel has announced that Loki will have a second season. If Loki does end up featuring prominently in Doctor Strange 2, the movie could wind up being a sort of middle act for the character’s current story – an intermission of sorts between Loki season 1 and Loki season 2. With so much multiverse content on the way to the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could have some big things in store for many important MCU figures.

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About The Author

Rick Stevenson
(1221 Articles Published)

Rick Stevenson is a writer, editor and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s written on TV, film and games for over six years, in addition to assorted stints in bookselling, carpentry, and TV production. Rick studied writing at the College of William & Mary and Oxford University, and can report with some authority that they are both old. He lives and dies for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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