Loki is bound for an interesting arc in the Disney+ series.

I don’t think Marvel Studios gets enough credit sometimes. I’m actually serious here. Yes, they have made billions and billions of dollars on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but people still underestimate them. They may have fan support, but I can’t count the number of times their films have been deemed “average” or that they follow a “Marvel Formula.” Yes, they are fairly straightforward in their three-act-structure narrative in most cases, but they do take risks in other ways.

One such way is in their ability to change their characters every single film. Seriously, if you look at every one of their standalone movies, their leads are constantly growing and evolving. When creating a story that spans dozens of films, it’d be easy for them to grow complacent and to create plot-driven narratives. But they make sure to always root their stories in their lead characters.

It’s because of that that I grew concerned about Loki. Loki the Disney+ series, to be clear. Unlike many other characters in the MCU, we’d already seen him grow. We’d seen him turn from a mischievous god with a grudge against his brother to a mischievous god who has grown to respect his brother. With the impending series, however, we’re dealing with a regressed version of the character. This is someone we are seeing go through the Phase 2 and Phase 3 timeline all over again. 

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So, wouldn’t it be a bit boring to see the character go through the same sort of arc a second time? Luckily, Marvel Studios has a plan. More specifically, Loki showrunner Michael Waldron has a plan. While speaking to the Forever Dogs Podcast, Waldron discussed Loki’s struggle in the series.

“I think it’s the struggle with identity, who you are, who you want to be. I’m really drawn to characters who are fighting for control. Certainly you see that with Loki over the first 10 years of movies, he’s out of control at pivotal parts of his life, he was adopted and everything and that manifest itself through anger and spite towards his family.”

Why does this resonate so strongly with me? Because it’s an arc we haven’t seen him go through. While Loki did constantly re-assess his relationship with his brother and with Asgard, I don’t know if he ever reflected inwardly. At no point did I get the impression that he had some sort of identity crisis of who he should be. 

Perhaps he did cope with these sort of issues, but they likely happened off-screen. In this, seeing him trying to fight for control of his own life and to take agency sounds very engaging. To me, it’s further proof that Marvel knows what they’re doing. Like them or not, it’s their commitment to character that allows them to enjoy their success.

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SOURCE: Forever Dogs Podcast (via The Direct)