Loki stands a chance of being a game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving us our first real glimpse into the Multiverse and the wider ramifications its existence will have for future stories.
The Time Variance Authority has clearly been keeping a close eye on things, and that's why Loki - who broke the timeline when he escaped with the Tesseract in 2012 - ends up in their clutches. The God of Mischief found himself on their radar when he made off with that Infinity Stone, and the TVA needs him to fix things.
Talking in the latest issue of Disney's D23 Magazine (via The Direct), Tom Hiddleston shed some light on the TVA's role in the MCU and what it is they want with Loki. "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," he explains. "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's broken too many of his restrictions."
It's definitely interesting to hear that the TVA seemingly have access to future events, so it's possible they'll actually reveal to Loki that he eventually makes things right with Thor and becomes a "hero." After all, he was a full-blown villain in The Avengers, so Marvel Studios needs to do something to redeem him.
Loki director Kate Herron hinted at that in the same interview. "With Loki taking the Tesseract, fans will see exactly what that action means and what a bigger ripple he's made in time doing that. It causes him to be more reflective about his actions and why he's done what he's done."
We don't have long to go until Loki is released on Disney+, and Marvel Studios is likely going to ramp up the show's marketing campaign in a huge way over the next couple of weeks. Whether that means more details will be revealed remains to be seen, but we can bank on at least one more trailer.