Loki head writer Eric Martin confirmed a fan theory about the MCU show's Season 2 ending on Disney+.

Tom Hiddleston's titular antihero made the biggest sacrifice of his 12-year MCU tenure in the Loki Season 2 finale, taking on the duty of guarding the Sacred Timeline to keep He Who Remains at bay.

Hiddleston even admitted that his character's moment in the finale "was wholly appropriate and...very moving," with Loki now holding a place as one of the most important figures across the entire Multiverse with this new job.

Loki Writer Confirms Season 2 Ending Idea

Loki Season 2 head writer Eric Martin compared the conclusion of Loki's story in the latest season of his Disney+ show to that of the legendary Greek figure, Atlas.

Martin told Esquire that the idea for Season 2 was to have Loki evolve "from a lowercase-g god, to a capital-G God," powering up his "wisdom and knowledge" while giving him a new responsibility that allows the Multiverse's inhabitants to live:

"The big idea was taking Loki from a lowercase-g god, to a capital-G God, powering him up to that place where he gets his throne—but it’s not a throne he wants anymore. This is a duty. He’s doing this so everyone else can have their lives. He’s giving up the thing that he wants most so that everyone else can have their free will… We wanted to power up his abilities, but also his wisdom and knowledge."

"I leave that up to interpretation. That final image is meant to be ambiguous. So I’ll let people make up their own minds there. If you look into mythology, someone like Atlas is an interesting person to look at with that."

In the comics, Dormammu, the evil ruler of the Dark Dimension whom Doctor Strange famously battles, sends a parasitic entity down to Earth. The entity goes on to possess multiple misogynistic men throughout history and make them serial killers, including the real-life Jack the Ripper. The entity eventually takes over Brad, as Zaniac is a film about a serial killer who violently targets women, a role Brad takes literally after his possession. Following Brad's eventual death, Zaniac possesses Thug Thatcher, whose most notable offense is murdering Jane Foster.

Despite his powers, Zaniac is easily defeated by Thor in the comics. Similarly, Brad is subdued quickly by Loki in episode 2. Though Brad tries to escape when Loki and Mobius find him, Loki captures him with magic and returns him to the TVA. He proceeds to interrogate Brad to find out Sylvie's location, even leaning into Brad's taunting of him as a villain.

Despite being an annoying foil, MCU Brad displays no evil intentions or harmful views towards women. He only seems determined to return to his normal life on the Sacred Timeline, having become disillusioned with the TVA and its mission. The Loki version of Zaniac is merely a minor obstacle that the main character has to intimidate. He's a far cry from the powerful, possessed serial killer familiar to comic book readers.

Why Loki's Zaniac Changes Are Probably Smart

Considering his rich history in the comics, Loki could have expanded Zaniac's role, making him a much more horrifying threat. The show also could have included how he ultimately transforms from starring in a film about a villain named Zaniac to assuming the mantle of Zaniac in his real life. However, the changes the MCU made to his character are probably for the best.

Loki has multiple external forces and motivations acting upon him this season. He's already had to find Sylvie and still needs to fully reconcile with her. Loki's also dealt with his time slipping and working to prevent reality from breaking apart as the Sacred Timeline branches uncontrollably. Adding another villain to his story likely would have overcomplicated the plot, especially since Loki season 2 already has the TVA and Kang.

Considering the history of Zaniac's character and his abhorrent behavior towards women, there was an opportunity to tell a timely story about toxic masculinity. However, Loki is generally lighter in tone and such a story would have been difficult to pull off. Instead, Brad can simply serve as a fun nod to the comics.

Why Zaniac Is A Way Bigger Deal In Marvel Comics

What to Expect in Loki Season 2?

Throughout his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki has been portrayed as a diabolical villain, a reluctant hero, and everything in between. However, one side of Loki that has yet to be fully explored is his Frost Giant heritage. Like his comic counterpart, the MCU's Loki was born to the Frost Giants as the son of King Laufey, adopted by Odin and raised in Asgard.

As an on-screen character, Loki has developed from a villain looking to take down his brother Thor to a time-jumping variant trying to capture another version of himself. Being the god of mischief has allowed him to display not only his high intellect but a whole host of magical powers including astral projection, energy blasts, and even teleportation. However, one thing MCU fans have yet to see is Loki's Frost Giant Powers.

Loki Would Become More Formidable With Frost Giant Powers

The MCU May Have a Reason for Ignoring Loki's Frost Giant Powers

The MCU may be hesitant to give Loki his Frost Giant powers because of the development and popularity of the character over the years. The soundest reason for this may be because Loki has been firmly established as a vital part of the Asgardian world. It makes sense for the character to shy away from his Frost Giant heritage because he fought so hard to become an accepted part of his adopted family. Whether it was the acceptance of his adopted father Odin or, more importantly, the love and respect of his brother Thor, Loki's connection to Asgard trumps his birth roots as a Frost Giant.

New Loki merchandise images just surfaced online, and they contain previously unrevealed information about Season 2's storylines.

The images come courtesy of CoveredGeekly. They include artwork of Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) wearing a spacesuit (implying he'll go on a jaunt among the stars at some point) and Time Variance Authority posters. The posters range from anti-Loki propaganda (carrying the slogan "This is bigger than the TVA. This is about everything.") to sinister workplace notices dictating how TVA agents should communicate and even how much pie they should eat. Aside from backing up previous reports that Loki Season 2 will pit its titular protagonist against the TVA, the posters also indicate that the organization itself will become more authoritarian in the show's next batch of episodes. That said, it's worth noting that any plot details seemingly gleaned from the Loki merchandise artwork remain pure speculation for now.

According to a new rumor, Jonathan Majors' Kang will have multiple Variants show up in Season Two of Tom Hiddleston's Loki series on Disney+.

The Loki-centric MCU project first aired in 2021, where it introduced the foreboding character of He Who Remains, played by Majors. In the first season's finale, the questionable character warned the God of Mischief about himself and the consequences of the Multiverse being free.

With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the world is about to get its first look at what exactly he was talking about. Paul Rudd's Scott Lang will have to go up against none other than Kang the Conqueror, a "warrior version" of the He Who Remains.

Now, before Loki's second season finally arrives, new whispers revealed some exciting new information about what fans can expect regarding the presence of the MCU's big bad.

More Kang for Loki

Industry insider Daniel Richtman revealed some new rumored details on Jonathan Majors' role in Loki's second season.

On his Patreon, Richtman noted that "there will be multiple Kang variants in Loki Season Two."

Additionally, a week ago, he shared that "Jonathan Majors recently filmed more scenes" for the project.

It's important to note that all of this information is a rumor, and none has been officially confirmed by either Marvel Studios or Disney.

Will Loki See the Real Kang?

After the first season's ending, it seemed inevitable, much like Thanos himself, that Tom Hiddleston's leading character would be running into more of He Who Remains' Variants at some point.

The bigger question is more so when any version of Majors' villain will show up during the season. Will it be throughout the season, or will audiences have to wait until the finale once again?

Additionally, could the second season connect to Ant-Man: Quantumania in any way? 

Maybe Hiddleston will get the meet the Variant of Kang who went up against the Ant-Family. But if he does, then that probably doesn't bode too well for Scott Lang.

If the rumor of more than one Kang is true, then this will be the first time fans see multiple versions of Majors' villain in one project, as opposed to them being spread across different versions. It opens the doors to lots of awesome storytelling potential—fingers crossed that Marvel Studios is able to utilize it best they can.

Loki is set to air its second season at some point this summer.

Disney has released a collectible pin depicting multiple Lokis ahead of Loki Season 2's debut on Disney+.

Even though Loki's sophomore season isn't set to release until Summer 2023, anything related to the series is worth paying attention to. 

Not only is this first-ever second season of an MCU Disney+ series shrouded in secrecy, but Loki Season 1 also stands as one of Phase 4's most integral projects in that it introduced Variants, timelines, Multiversal Wars, and Kang the Conqueror.

Despite a handful of teasers and on-set photos, it's still anyone's guess as to what the God of Mischief is in for this time around. 

But out ahead of Marvel Studios' 2023 slate, Disney unveiled a Loki collectible with ties to Season 1 and potentially Season 2.

Disney Releases Loki Family Merchandise 

A Disney pin featuring characters from Loki on Disney+, and shared via the Disney Pins Blog, was released in the last week of December at the Disney Parks. 

Titled the "Loki Family Pin," the artwork depicts a number of Lokis in animated form. 

In addition to the MCU's prime version of Loki, the pin features Sylvie and Miss Minutes at the TVA, along with Loki variants from Episode 5's The Void, including Boastful Loki, President Loki, Kid Loki, Classic Loki, and even Alligator Loki. 

While Prime Loki, Sylvie, Miss Minutes, and a version of the TVA are confirmed to return in Season 2, recent marketing has shown the possibility of additional Loki Variants as well. 

This particular pin is an open edition at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World and the retail price is $17.99.

Will Loki Variants Return in Season 2?

Given the popularity of Loki Season 1, the marketing and merchandising for Season 2 will likely be greater than past MCU projects on Disney+; and this collectible pin is only the beginning. 

It is interesting that Disney chose Loki Variants for its "Family" line of Disney pins and against the background of the TVA, especially since The Void's Loki Variants were never shown at that location.

While it's likely that this pin is simply inspired by Season 1, it's worth noting that past Variants of the God of Mischief could return alongside new ones.

Of them all, President Loki is the most likely since he's played by Tom Hiddleston, but Jack Veal's Young Loki is also a contender since Marvel Studios has been quietly assembling a team of Young Avengers throughout Phase 4. 

And, if he returns, the odds are in favor of his companion and ever-popular Alligator Loki making a comeback as well. 

Fans curious about Loki Season 2 and its potential cameos should keep an eye on any additional merchandise released ahead of its summer premiere.

Season 2 of Loki debuts on Disney+ in Summer 2023.