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Many Marvel fans are excited to see Tom Hiddleston return to the screen as Loki in the upcoming TV series of the same name. Hiddleston has masterfully played the role for over 10 years and has long been one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Even though excitement is mounting for Loki’s June 9 premiere, fans might be surprised to find out that the show wasn’t always a sure thing. Loki was developed around the time Avengers: Infinity War was released, mainly because former Disney CEO Bob Iger wanted Marvel boss Kevin Feige to develop some original programming for Disney+. 

After the idea for Loki was approved, Marvel still had to convince Hiddleston to star in it. Thankfully, one major addition to the show had him sold. 

Tom Hiddleston initially had no idea ‘Loki’ was being developed for him

Tom Hiddleston speaks on stage about life as Loki in the Marvel Universe during ACE Comic Co
Tom Hiddleston speaks on stage about life as Loki in the Marvel Universe during ACE Comic Con | Mat Hayward/Getty Images

Loki became an important project for Marvel’s creative team after executives decided to prioritize producing original content for Disney+ back in 2017. At the time, the streaming service hadn’t been launched yet, but Iger knew Disney would need some new programming to compete with other streaming apps. When the time came for Marvel to reach out and offer Hiddleston the lead role in Loki, he was caught completely off guard.  

“I probably should not have been surprised, but I was,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “But only because Infinity War had felt so final.”

Tom Hiddleston wanted to star in ‘Loki’ after he found out the TVA was going to be included 

Hiddleston was initially interested in starring in Loki from the start, but his enthusiasm grew once he found out that the Time Variance Authority would be included in the series. In the same interview, he described the move as “the best idea that anybody had pertaining to the series.”

Even Feige admitted that adding the TVA to the series was a brilliant decision. 

“Putting Loki into his own procedural series became the eureka moment for the show,” Feige said. 

The TVA will play a very important role in ‘Loki’

For those who are unfamiliar, the TVA is an organization that monitors the array of timelines in Marvel’s multiverse. Their sole job is to prevent major alterations in the past or the future, and on the show, they take Loki into custody to help them fix major alterations to the timeline. 

Loki’s head writer, Michael Waldron, says the TVA’s outlook toward time and reality directly relates to several key themes he plans to emphasize in the series. 

“Loki is a character that’s always reckoning with his own identity, and the TVA, by virtue of what they do, is uniquely suited to hold up a mirror to Loki and make him really confront who he is and who he was supposed to be,” Waldron said.

Tom Hiddleston says the TVA forces Loki to lose control 

Hiddleston became excited after he found out the TVA would be in Loki because he knew it would allow him to take the character to places he’d never gone. 

“[That] was very exciting because in the other films, there was always something about Loki that was very controlled. He seemed to know exactly what the cards in his hand were and how he was going to play them…. And Loki versus the TVA is Loki out of control immediately, and in an environment in which he’s completely behind the pace, out of his comfort zone, destabilized, and acting out.”

Details are still scarce about how Loki’s relationship with the TVA will play out, but it’s sure to be entertaining. Loki premieres on Disney+ on June 9. 

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