Loki started on Disney Plus this week, and star Tom Hiddleston has been doing the rounds for the series. Talking to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, he spoke about how much the character means to him, and why he keeps returning to the role.
“There’s no question that being cast as Loki changed my life,” he says. “I feel a huge responsibility in honouring the affection in which Loki is held by the audience. I absolutely love playing him, he is such a fun, complex character.” Hiddleston started playing Loki in 2011’s Thor, making him a long-serving member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite this, he’s only just gotten a namesake entry with Loki, a six-part Disney Plus miniseries.
In giving us and Hiddleston more time with the character, the show opens new avenues, like confirming that Loki is gender-fluid, which the actor says is something he’s been aware of since day one. “It’s always been there,” he explains. “Ever since I was cast in the role, in 2009, doing my own research and preparation in the 60-plus years of publishing in Marvel comics, and centuries of storytelling that Loki appears in, back to the ancient myths, Loki has always been fluid. I was really pleased we got to touch on that.”
In Loki, the god of mischief’s swift exit in Avengers: Endgame doesn’t go quite to plan, and they find themselves captured by the Time Variance Authority. The first episode became available on Disney Plus this past Wednesday, June 9, and each subsequent episode will continue to arrive on Wednesdays for the next five weeks.
Michael Waldron is the showrunner on Loki, and Kate Herron directed all six episodes. If you’re curious for more superheroics on the small screen, check out the Arrowverse order for the DC side of things.