The MCU can be pretty confusing even at the best of times, especially since the introduction of the multiverse. The release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be the next big crossover event in the timeline, but if you’re not watching Loki season 2 right now, I fear for your sanity.
We know by now that the MCU is no longer solely reserved for the big screen, and watching the Marvel movies in order is simply not enough anymore. If you really want to understand what’s happening in Marvel’s Phase 5 and Phase 6, you have to stay tuned in to the various Marvel series, too, whether you like it or not.
Judging by a new report on the state of the MCU from Variety, Loki season 2 will be crucial to our preparation for the Avengers 5 release date. It is said, “[Kang] has been positioned as the franchise’s next big thing in this season of Loki — particularly in the finale, which airs on Nov. 9 and sets up Kang as the titular star of a fifth Avengers film in 2026.”
Fans who watched the first season of Loki will have already been introduced to the new Marvel villain who is set to terrorize the Avengers. Well, sort of. Kang, or more specifically, He Who Remains was revealed to be the menace behind the multiverse in the Loki season 1 finale, but his reign was brought to a premature end by Sylvie.
We next saw Kang the Conqueror, who made life very difficult for Scott Lang in Ant-Man 3. That variant of Kang met his demise, too, but the Quantumania post-credit scene revealed the Council of Kangs, who are keen to put things right by destroying the Avengers.
Those who have paid attention to Loki season 2 will also be familiar with Victor Timely, a man truly lost in time and the creator of the Temporal Loom, the device which held the various timelines of the multiverse in tact, until it blew up and took its inventor with it. Are you still following? Good.
As you can see, things are incredibly complicated as it stands, and trying to watch the upcoming Marvel movies without at least dipping your toes into Loki’s two-season run would be a mind-melting experience. Variants of Kang have already come and gone, and more are still yet to come, but by the sounds of it, the finale of Loki will offer up the definitive version of the Marvel character as we build towards The Kang Dynasty.
So yes, for the sake of your sanity, I urge you to watch Loki if you want to stay in the loop with the MCU. That’s all well and good, but not everyone has the benefit of getting this handy advice from The Digital Fix (can you imagine such a life?), and therein lies the deeper problem with the MCU right now.
After producing a whole host of the best superhero movies of the modern era, Marvel got carried away, and decided to branch out into televisual adventures, too. But, not everyone has a subscription to Disney Plus, and even those who do are finding it increasingly difficult to find the time and motivation to commit to three or four series each year, especially given the sub-par quality of the majority of Marvel’s TV shows. Pinning the coherence of your entire cinematic saga on the fact that your fans are watching every single thing you make, is a risky game, and one Marvel is close to losing right now.
Nevertheless, Loki is definitely worth your time anyway, as you can tell from our Loki season 2 review. And, if you want to be part of the conversation when it comes to new movies in the franchise, it’s a must-watch. Speaking of new movies, here’s what we know about The Marvels and Deadpool 3.