Summary
Lokiseason 2 covertly referenced Daniel Craig’s scrappedDoctor Strange 2character in the latest string of similar easter eggs from the show’s second season.
Lokitells the story of the God of Mischief’s variant as he joins the Time Variance Authority, a secret organization overseeing the timeline from a central point existing outside of space and time, against his initial wishes. The show’s first season was met with almost uniform acclaim from fans, and the second season was unsurprisingly set in production. The anticipation was high from the start, with the Disney Plus arrival of the second season ofLokiseason 2 looking better to fans post-Secret Invasion, which was received poorly during its run and conclusion on the streamer.
Lokiseason 2 premiered on Disney Plus to a positive reception and swam to the halfway mark in no time, with each episode containing subtle easter eggs for the eagle-eyed MCU fan to enjoy. The recently released third episode is no exception. In a segment of the episode where Loki finds himself taking in 1893’s World Fair in Chicago as part of his search for Ravonna Renslayer alongside Mobius, the two come across three statues. While the first two depict the familiar characters Odin and Thor, the third statue depicts someone in the pantheon who has been absent from the MCU until now: Balder the Brave.Craig would have played Balder inDoctor Strange 2, but the character was scrapped.
WhileCraig initially denied rumors of his Marvel casting, it was confirmed that he was originally going to portray Thor’s half-brother Balder. However, the portrayal never passed the watercolor render that fans eventually saw. There was also a deleted scene featuring the character’s corpse in the Illuminati HQ, giving fans an even closer taste of the position Craig’s Balder would have occupied had he debuted. This is the latest easter egg inLokiseason 2, with nods to the Zaniac and the X-Men already having stirred fans up in earlier episodes. This sort of integration might be a good avenue for the showrunner’s vision to slowly meld theLokiseries into the wider MCU and facilitate a reunion between Loki and his brother Thor.
It is evident to many fans that the craftier brother should be front and center for this, and as such,the nextThormovie should belong to Lokiand potentially be the climax of the character’s story. The display of Balder in the second season makes for a good easter egg, but Loki’s comments on the statues also hint at the first strands of a potential longing to draw closer to the fated reunion. As for Craig’s Balder, cutting the renowned actor’s addition to the MCU could be seen as a missed opportunity that fans will dwell on even more now that it’s been alluded to in the franchise’s most popular small-screen offering. Whether there are any plans to recast Craig in a different role or even use Balder in upcoming projects is unknown, so fans can only speculate.
Despite theMajors controversy that aLokiexec finally addressedfor the first time recently,Lokiseason 2 seems to be going strong at the halfway mark, with many fans enjoying Hiddleston’s performance well into its MCU run and despite a general feeling of fatigue hounding the franchise. How the second half of the season unfolds and what comes next for the titular trickster will likely be of paramount interest to fans for a while.
Lokiis currently available for streaming on Disney Plus.
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