Is Lady Loki coming to the MCU?
Rumour has it that a female version of Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief could be coming to the Disney Plus series.
Following in the footsteps of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus, up next on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s revamped slate of TV temptation is Michael Waldron’s Loki. While Tom Hiddleston is back in action as the antagonistic antihero, the various rumours and trailers have teased he’s not alone out there in the multiverse.
Away from Owen Wilson’s role as Mobius M. Mobius, the all-star cast includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Richard E Grant, and Sophia Di Martino in mysterious roles. And with everyone from Old Man Loki to Kid Loki tipped to make their MCU debut, there’s also a woman waiting in the wings who could mean big things moving forward.
You see, rumour has it that a female version of Loki could be set to make her debut. As the self-confessed Mistress of Mischief, here’s what Lady Loki could mean for the Multiverse and beyond. (Find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order with our step-by-step guide.)
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Who is Lady Loki?
For those up on their comics, Lady Loki was first introduced in 2008’s Thor Vol. 3 #5. Born into a body meant for fellow Asgardian Sif, Lady Loki was the original (male) Loki in a different form. Later, there was a different story in 2014 that took a leaf out of Norse mythology and redefined Loki as a gender-fluid character that helped bolster Marvel’s LGBTQ+ credentials. Since both these milestones, Loki has hopped between various forms.
More recently, the idea of Lady Loki appearing in the MCU comes from Bleeding Cool, which shared an update confirming Marvel Comics is pushing Joe Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel’s comic Lady Loki: Mistress of Mischief.
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The story will be a reprinting of Lady Loki’s origin and could neatly introduce a female Loki ahead of her TV debut. It’s also interesting to note this is the 2008 story and not the gender-fluid Loki from 2014’s Loki: Agent of Asgard.
The reason this is important? Fans think that Marvel could be prepping this reprint as a tie-in to the Loki TV series, in anticipation of new fans wanting to know more about Lady Loki. Certainly, loads of Wanda/Vision comics picked up in sales following the debut of WandaVision - so perhaps this is Marvel trying to get ahead of the curve.
And if this is what they're planning, it would seem that Lady Loki herself will be a major part of the series. Otherwise, why not just reprint other Loki stories?
Is Lady Loki in the Disney Plus TV series?
At the time of writing, Lady Loki isn’t confirmed to appear in Loki. Still, there are plenty of theories that cast member Sophia Di Martino will be suiting up as Loki’s female counterpart. The first photos of Martino on the set featured her wearing a familiar-looking green and gold outfit that echoed Hiddleston’s in The Avengers. The trailer has also shown off a destroyed version of New York that teases at least one version of Multiverse Loki won in 2012.
Although Lady Loki is sometimes considered a continuation of classic Loki, the series would almost definitely adopt a different approach and feature Lady Loki as a completely separate version of the character from the Multiverse. With Loki stealing the Tesseract and jumping into an alternate reality in Avengers: Endgame, it’s this dimension-hopping that’s caught the attention of the Time Variance Authority. It’s unclear what the TVA wants with Loki, but perhaps as penance for his crimes, he'll be hunting down various rogue versions of himself from alternate dimensions.
Adding fuel to the fire, eagle-eyed fans think they’ve spotted Martino as Lady Loki in the first trailer. There was a specific scene of Loki and a mysterious blonde against a cosmic background. Some took it to be Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow being visited in the afterlife, however, others are adamant this is Loki kicking back with Lady Loki. Though of course, there's still a chance Martino is playing the villainous Enchantress or someone else entirely.
Will Tom Hiddleston be replaced as Loki?
We don’t see Hiddleston going anywhere (yet), but just like Chris Hemsworth potentially stepping aside to make way for Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder the Loki we’ve come to love and loathe for the past eight years might take a backseat.
Remember, while Jac Schaeffer’s WandaVision was a single miniseries, Loki is poised for a second run. Producer Nate Moore told IndieWire Loki "lends itself to multiple seasons" – but what if instead of sticking with Hiddleston, the show could shift focus to Lady Loki and set up her own spin-off? It’s all hearsay for now, but with Marvel Comics rush-publishing Loki: Mistress of Mischief, it’s our biggest clue yet that Hiddleston’s God of Mischief will soon be joined by a fiery female counterpart.
In terms of where else Lady Loki could fit into the ever-growing franchise, there are continued rumours of a Dark Avengers movie where Lady Loki would be a perfect addition to the roster. Similarly, the likes of Tessa Thompson have championed an all-female Avengers movie that might welcome Lady Loki to the fold (or as an appropriate villain).
Finally, let’s remember Taika Waititi is hard at work on Thor: Love and Thunder, which is already taking a female-first direction with Natalie Portman’s Foster picking up Mjolnir. Maybe Lady Loki will meet her "brother" in that project, or stand alongside Hiddleston's version at some point in the movie.
For now, it's all still a mystery. Thankfully, Loki the series is next on the docket in terms of Phase 4, meaning there isn’t long to wait until we find out whether we’re on the money – or we’ve been punked by Loki him/herself.
Loki comes to Disney Plus on Wednesday 9th June. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now. Want something else to watch? Check out out dedicated Sci-fi page or our full TV Guide.
