Loki Trailer 2 Breakdown: Every New Secret & Story Reveal

Marvel and Disney's second Loki trailer reveals several major twists for the upcoming Disney+ series. The Trickster God was killed by Thanos in the opening scenes of Avengers: Infinity War, but the MCU is based on comic books, where death is something of a revolving door. He's now returning as a result of time travel, as a side-effect of the Avengers' Quantum Realm mission to bring an end to the Blip.

Tracking suggests Loki could be Disney+'s biggest show yet, which makes sense given its star has always been one of Marvel's most popular characters. Marvel has released a new Loki trailer ahead of the show's launch in June; a lot of the shots will be familiar to viewers, having been seen in the first trailer, while many lack the context to properly understand them. Still, for all that's the case this new trailer serves a crucial role in that it gives viewers the essential lowdown on what to expect from Loki, while introducing key supporting characters who may well have a notable future in the MCU going forward.

Here are all the biggest reveals in the new Loki trailer, ranging from an outline of the Time-Keepers' mission to the introduction of Judge Renslayer, a character with major links to a Phase 4 villain.

The Time-Keepers Explained

This version of Loki was created as a result of the Avengers' time travel, when the heroes failed to secure the Tesseract in New York in 2012 - and instead sent it skittering into Loki's hands. He used the Infinity Stone to teleport away, and in doing so he created a branch in the timeline that could not be sealed by the Avengers. Unfortunately it seems Loki's liberty was short-lived, because he's now been captured by the Time-Keepers, formally known as the Temporal Variance Authority, whose sworn mission is to protect the timeline and seal such branches. It's interesting to note Loki knows who the Time-Keepers are, perhaps suggesting the Asgardians have encountered them before.

A Skrull Prisoner (Or Agent) In The TVA

In Avengers: Endgame, the Ancient One suggested branches in the timeline are created by tampering with the Infinity Stones, which control "the flow of time." She seems to have been oversimplifying, however, because if that was the case then an organization like the Time-Keepers surely wouldn't be necessary because branches would only rarely be created. What's more, Loki is not the only prisoner who has been captured by the TVA; in fact, closer inspection reveals what appears to be a Skrull among the Time-Keepers, either a prisoner or an operative.

Introducing Judge Renslayer

Marvel has confirmed Gugu Mbatha-Raw is playing a character named Judge Renslayer, a name that will be familiar to comic book readers. In the comics, Ravonna is a 40th-century princess who unfortunately won the eye of the time traveling villain Kang the Conqueror. Besotted with Ravonna, Kang spared her father's kingdom from conquest, and instead spirited Ravonna away into the realm of Limbo (the Marvel Comics version of the Quantum Realm, the dimension time travelers pass through, where Kang established his own empire). Jonathan Majors has been cast to play Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, so it's reasonable to assume Mbatha-Raw's Renslayer is destined to return, although her story is sure to be adapted.

Notice the three heads behind Renslayer, whose provenance is unclear at this stage. They may be the three aspects of the Living Tribunal, one of Marvel's ultimate cosmic beings in the comics who is responsible for maintaining the entire Multiverse. Although the Living Tribunal has yet to appear in the MCU, he was alluded to in Doctor Strange, when Baron Mordo wielded a weapon called the Staff of the Living Tribunal.

Loki Broke Reality When He Stole The Tesseract - And Now Must Fix It

Loki apparently "broke reality" when he stole the Tesseract and created a new timeline, although to be fair to the Trickster God he probably had no idea what was going on and simply took an opportunity to escape. It seems this act has created multiple new branches in the timeline, which the Time-Keepers are attempting to fix. Presumably different versions of Loki lie at the heart of these multiple branches, which is why they've recruited this one; set a thief to catch a thief, set a Loki to stop a Loki.

The MCU has long maintained the fabric of reality is relatively fragile, and in Doctor Strange the Masters of the Mystic Arts believed Stephen Strange was breaking the space-time continuum when he simply reversed time around an apple while experimenting with the Time Stone. Scarlet Witch demonstrated the same power in WandaVision, meaning she may well be doing similar damage to reality itself as she masters her Chaos Magic. Interestingly, in the comics Scarlet Witch has been described as a "Nexus Being" who can affect the Multiverse on a fundamental level, and she is indeed monitored by the TVA. All the threads could well be coming together for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

This Loki Is A "Variant"

Marvel introduces a new technical term into the MCU in the Loki trailer; because this version of Loki originates from a branched timeline, he is described as a "variant." The term is a simple one, and it effectively differentiates alternate reality doppelgangers from their main-timeline counterparts; that means the version of Thanos who attacked the Avengers at the climax of Avengers: Endgame was technically a variant, as he originated from a branched timeline created when the Avengers traveled back to 2014; the Gamora left in 2023 at the end of the film is also a variant. The term is an amusing one, familiar to comic book fans, where "variants" are copies of the same issue with different covers. The MCU has essentially inverted the idea, because these temporal variants look the same but take different character journeys.

A Roxxon Easter Egg

One of Loki's (mis)adventures sees him take a trip to a Roxxcart store, an amusing MCU Easter egg. Roxxon has been a recurring presence in the MCU, alluded to in everything from the movies to one-shots, and playing a major role in the old Marvel Television shows Agent Carter and Cloak & Dagger. They're traditionally associated with energy generation, but the Loki trailer suggests they've branched out into running supermarkets as well. One of them gets an unwelcome visit from Loki and the Time-Keepers, and looks set to get trashed.

The Ruins Of New York - And Avengers Tower

The Loki trailer suggests the time traveling shenanigans will see Loki visit a wide range of times and locations, including alien worlds; the lighting in some shots even corresponds to Vormir, where the Soul Stone was found in Avengers: Infinity War, but it's difficult to say for sure. One of the most interesting shots, though, sees Loki visit what is clearly a devastated New York. Note the ruins of Avengers Tower in the distance. It's impossible to say how this particular branch was created, but it looks as though Loki will definitely explore world-ending scenarios that the Trickster God must prevent.

Loki On The Throne Of Asgard

This Loki variant gets to see what it would be like if he took the throne of Asgard. In the main timeline, Loki's successfully taking control of Asgard appears to have been a major moment in his character journey; he finally achieved the glory he had only dreamed of, but he just didn't find it satisfying, and consequently it pushed him further down his road of redemption. The same could be true of variants of Loki, although it remains to be seen whether the one ruling Asgard is the star of this show or another, who must be defeated by him.

President Loki Is Probably A Variant

Speaking of variants, it looks as though President Loki - seen before in the first Loki trailer - is another variant. This is clearly inspired by a popular "President Loki" arc back in 2016, which was loosely inspired by Donald Trump's first campaign for president of the United States. "Vote Loki" was a smart commentary on American politics, playing the use of social media for a laugh while making a strongly satirical point. Curiously, the Loki trailer seems to show President Loki confronting Sakaarian scrappers from Thor: Ragnarok, but there's not enough context to figure out what's going on here.

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