Loki's TVA Organization & Time Prisoners Explained By Tom Hiddleston

The Time Variance Authority/TVA from Loki predetermines what happens in the MCU, Tom Hiddleston reveals. Marvel Studios is continuing to establish itself in the TV sphere after WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This time, it will see the return of arguably one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Inadvertently set up in Avengers: Endgame, Loki's escape during the New York leg of the time heist with the Tesseract effectively puts him under the TVA radar. In Loki, the God of Mischief finds himself begrudgingly working with them, otherwise, he risks being erased from reality. Plot specifics for the show are still unknown at this point, and a big part of the reason why is because the series is introducing a string of new characters from the TVA. And since the organization remains shrouded in mystery, it's also uncertain what to expect from their people.

Hiddleston, however, reveals that the TVA has already been involved in the MCU for quite a while. In an interview with D23 Magazine (via The Direct), the actor reveals that the organization supposedly decides what happens in the MCU. Anyone whose actions change their plans, they're out to get them, hence why they're after him following Endgame.

"If you have done something to alter history or alter the course of the future, according to the TVA, you get pulled into their headquarters and processed as a time criminal. You could literally have done anything. The TVA is an organization that orders and polices the passage of time. They have predetermined what happens in the past, the present, and the future - in a straight line. And if you do anything that deviates from that, or creates an alternate branch of reality, you get hauled into the TVA and charged with crimes against the timeline, and you're a time prisoner. It will come as a surprise to no one that Loki is one of those time criminals. He has pushed the boat out. He's broken too many of his restrictions."

Loki is really the only familiar character in the MCU in his new show. Since it will be set in an alternate timeline different from where the primary canon takes place, the remainder of the cast is brand new characters who have never appeared in the franchise before such as Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius and Gugu Mbatha Raw as Ravonna. Given this, it's interesting to think that apparently, these people and the rest of the TVA predetermines what happens in the franchise; based on what Hiddleston said, that includes Steve Rogers getting the super-soldier serum, Thanos attacking, and Iron Man dying in Endgame. Given this, Loki's rant about how they're essentially manipulators, deciding the fate of the universe without any regard for its people makes more sense.

What's curious now is whether the trickster's upcoming interaction with TVA will or won't affect their involvement in the MCU moving forward. Considering their supposed role in the franchise, they're supposed to know what lies ahead in the universe and that poses storytelling problems for Marvel Studios moving forward. In any case, since Loki is being set up with a second season, perhaps the God of Mischief's upcoming mission with them won't be resolved in its first year.

More: Eternals Trailer Is Hinting At A Bigger MCU Threat Than Thanos

Source: D23 Magazine (via The Direct)