Loki show composer Natalie Holt explains what’s going on in the deleted Asgardian King Loki sequence and why it was ultimately scrapped.
The shot of King Loki in Asgard was supposed to appear in the Loki premiere, the show’s composer, Natalie Holt says. Following WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios has just wrapped up its third Disney+ series. And unlike its predecessors, the Tom Hiddleston-led project’s events have big ramifications in the MCU moving forward, particularly what happened in its finale, titled “For All Time. Always.”
After his escape from the botched New York leg of Avengers: Endgame‘s time heist, Loki finds himself captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) — an organization that safeguards the Sacred Timeline. Agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) enlists the help of the Asgardian Prince in hunting down a female variant of himself, Sylvie (Sophia di Martino), who has been killing Minutemen and causing chaos. Eventually, however, he learns that the TVA is built on lies, with their supposed creators, the Time Keepers nothing more but a decoy. This sets him on a journey in tracking down who really is behind the whole operation which leads him to encounter more variants of himself.
By Loki episode 5 titled “Journey Into Mystery,” the God of Mischief meets Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), and President Loki among others. At this point, there’s an expectation that the outing will also feature King Loki of Asgard, who was repeatedly teased in the show’s marketing. Apparently, this shot was supposed to appear in the premiere episode as part of Mobius’ initial sit-down with Loki. As revealed by Holt to The Direct, this version of the character has taken over Asgard and is challenged by Throg. Ultimately, it was cut because Marvel Studios wanted to streamline the footage they wanted to include in this particular moment.
Prior to Holt’s revelation, there were various theories attempting to explain what’s exactly happening in the aforementioned scene. Some claim that it’s a scene already filmed that’s supposed to be in Loki season 2. Meanwhile, another speculation is that it’s a cut visual from Miss Minutes’ final offer to the God of Mischief before entering He Who Remains’ (Jonathan Majors) Citadel at the End of Time. The TVA mascot offered him the chance to pick the reality he wants to live in, including one scenario that would’ve seen him be the King of Asgard.
This isn’t the only scene that didn’t make it into Loki, however. Another shot that was prominently used in the show’s marketing is that of 2012 Loki back at Stark Tower. It’s uncertain where this bit fits in the original plan for the series, especially since it will essentially just bring back Loki to where he started before escaping his arrest and subsequently, being in TVA’s custody. Perhaps in the future, Marvel Studios decides to eventually release these unused clips in the show, unless they can be repurposed to be included in Loki season 2.