Loki Director Reveals SNL Influence On Owen Wilson's Mobius Look

Loki director Kate Herron has revealed that part of Owen Wilson's Mobius M. Mobius look was inspired by Saturday Night Live. Wilson caused quite a stir when it was revealed that he would star in the Disney+ miniseries alongside Tom Hiddleston. The actor had not previously expressed an interest in the MCU or in the television realm, but he made an exception for Loki and the results were impressive. Mobius and Loki's relationship is one of the highlights of the series and, even after just one episode, fans can't get enough of their buddy cop dynamic.

Wilson's take on the Time Variance Authority agent is the perfect blend of mysterious, laid-back, and empathetic. Loki makes the error of underestimating him at first, but Mobius proves the God of Mischief's tricks are no match for him. He doesn't exploit his power and expertise of Loki, though, but instead uses it poke through Loki's walls and make him an ally instead of an enemy. While, Wilson shines as Mobius onscreen, the finished product took some work to achieve. First, Herron had to sell Wilson on the idea of the series with a detailed pitch. Then Hiddleston had to get him up to speed on things Loki by giving Wilson 'Loki Lectures' prior to filming. However, another major task was landing the right look for Mobius.

In an interview with THR, Herron revealed that there was a bit of SNL influence on Mobius' look. Wilson does not change his look often for roles, generally maintaining his signature shaggy blond hair. However, he wanted to do something very different for this role and Herron was intent on perfecting the 'detective' look for Mobius. Originally, she thought of making him more scruffy looking, but quickly scrapped the idea. Then, Wilson recalled work he did for SNL in which he had silver hair and he felt that it was right for the character. Ultimately, they paid homage to the comic book character by keeping the mustache, but also gave the character an SNL-inspired twist with the silver hair. Check out Herron's statement below:

When me and Owen were talking about it, he just said that he wanted to do something really outside of himself. It’s a mystery story so I always thought of Mobius as our detective who’s taking us through it with Loki. So I had all these ideas in my head, and in a weird way, I imagined Mobius initially being a little bit scruffy. But as me and Owen were talking about his take on the character, we were like, “Oh no, that’s not quite right.” He’d done something for Saturday Night Live where he had silver hair, and he was like, “I just think there’s something interesting about doing something like this.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s such a cool idea.” Obviously, we had the mustache, which is an homage to who the character is based on in the comics. There’s something so brilliant and exciting when an actor says something like that. So it was really just creating the atmosphere to support him in that, and just letting him go. Honestly, it was weird seeing Owen on set since he’d pop by at the end just to hang out, and he’d have his blonde hair. I’d be like, “Oh, it’s so weird you have blonde hair,” because I was so used to seeing him as our Mobius. So even though his physical appearance looks so different, it’s a very different performance from Owen, even internally as well. So I think that’s very exciting.

Much of Herron's decision to incorporate the hair style came from her desire to support Wilson in his visions for the character. It is, indeed, exciting to see Wilson's passion for his character surpass the comfort of his signature style and typical roles. Meanwhile, Herron had quite the task in introducing several new characters from the comic books with Loki in a way that creates potential for future appearances in the MCU. Similar to how she was able to make Loki an origin story for Renslayer, she strove to find the perfect adaption of Mobius for the series, too.

The insight into Mobius' character development raises an interesting discussion on how MCU actors compare to their comic book counterparts. Fans will notice that some actors bear striking resemblances to their comic book characters, while others look very different and are sometimes even of differing genders or ethnicities than their counterparts. It is important for the MCU to exercise discretion in holding true to comic book origins while still allowing actors the freedom to make the characters their own and to adapt them appropriately into the films' particular setting and themes. In this case, Wilson and Herron seem to have struck the perfect balance in Loki's Mobius by maintaining some comic book authenticity while also allowing Wilson freedom in making the character his own.

More: Loki Is An Origin Story For Renslayer, Before She Becomes The Comic Character

Source: THR