Exclusive – Loki director explains Marvel's new time travel rules and the "weird" episodes ahead

Find out what she told us below but beware – Loki episode one spoilers lurk below the jump.

Hi Kate! after years of work for you guys, people finally seen it the first episode of Loki. How has that been?

I mean, it's just so nice to see that people are really engaging, you know? Even just with conversations about free will, people are excited by that. I'm so happy to see that Loki's fan base generally seems pretty positive, that they're all really enjoying it. Obviously, he's very beloved.

So no, it's been just a joy to send it out into the world. And obviously, that people like it.

From a directing perspective, one thing I noticed from the first episode was there's quite a lot of long, slow takes. Was it important for you to take your time and let these early scenes breathe?

Yeah, I would say so. I think it was because you want to feel like you're in these moments with Loki – and I love long takes anyway. And I think it was also partly I wanted the TVA to be like a real living breathing space.

So we built a lot of our sets practically, and I wanted to have sets that connected. For example, when Loki and Mobius leave the elevator and they walk down that long hallway, and they go into the time theatre, that was one giant set.

And it was really important to me to do that, because I wanted the TVA... obviously it exists outside of space and time. But we have to bring a certain level of reality to it because we're going to tell our stories there. So yeah, that was an important aspect for sure. But again, it’s partly just taste. I do love long takes.

I do find that balance in the series interesting. Eugene Cordero’s character Casey doesn’t know what a fish is, but we also see him eating lunch in the canteen. The TVA agents are fantastical figures but they also have to seem like real people.

I think it's fun! Casey bless him, I mean, I think the thing that always grounds me with Casey is… I think we've all been that kind of nervous, sweaty person. The thing Eugene and I spoke about is that every day is like Casey's first day on the job. So I was like, just play it like as your first day, all the time. And I think that was always fun.

But I think what you’re saying is interesting as well, because maybe it's just the part of the TVA they work in, right? or? Yeah, or maybe the TVA doesn't like fish. Maybe they just don't serve fish.

This first episode is kind of introducing us to everything, and episode two is quite different. Going forward, how different are the episodes coming up from episode one and from each other?

I think that’s something we were mindful of. The first episode to me, I always think about it like a prologue. I think it's kind of getting you in Loki's mind and setting up what's happened with Loki and the TVA dealing with him. But the second episode sets them off then on this new journey and this new path for Loki, which I think is fun.

Marvel wanted to make these series feel as big and crazy as the movies but we were very aware that obviously this is going out weekly. So I would say each episode is almost like its own satisfying, short story.

But it's all building up in acceleration as the show continues and I think people can expect it to probably get weird. I mean, in the first episode that sets the status quo, we have like a talking Southern clock. And that's our normal! So I would say buckle in, because it’s going to be pretty strange.

If episode one is a prologue, was there any conversation about releasing the first two episodes at once, like WandaVision?

I think it was always going to be a weekly thing with our show. I think that they sit really nicely kind of going out this way. And I think it just gives people time to stew and discuss.

My favourite thing about watching a film or TV show is as much the discussion as it is watching it, right? I think it's fun to go to the bar with friends after and debate where the story might be going. And I think we definitely thought about our stories that way.

I know you can’t say too much but do you have an episode that’s your favourite?

I love all the episodes. I think they feel like my children, right? But I would say like...

So you secretly have a favourite?

No, because in every episode something cool happens or stylistically they're so different. And story-wise, we were always doing such different things with them.

So I think four and five are quite fun ones, in some ways, but I think each episode is quite special and a little bit different. I'd just probably tell people that have to just keep watching week to week.

I love the settings, especially in the second episode. We've seen some clips of other things in trailers – are there any other kind of wild locations Loki will travel to that you can kind of tease a bit.

Yes. The thing I would say, really, is that we tried to rug pull. I think people had an idea about the show before it came out that it was going to be Loki going to these different, really famous moments in time.

And the thing that I love about our show is, yeah, we have historical moments in it that are familiar – but I think generally, more often than not, the places we're visiting are more unexpected, which I think is kind of fun.

Because, you know, we've seen a lot of time travel shows by this point. So it was like, ‘Okay, how do we bring the Loki take on this?’

Speaking of time travel, was there any discussion on the rules within the world of the show? Did you have to follow what was set up in Avengers: Endgame? And did you have one of those cork boards with red string going all over the place?

When I joined, [showrunner Michael Waldron] had done the writers room, the first one, because we did a second one. And basically, they had come up with a set of rules for time travel. And I think it was helpful because I was coming in with fresh eyes. And as a Marvel fan, I'd seen Endgame and I kind of had an idea of what time travel rules were within the MCU.

But the fun thing coming into it was I remember reading the first script, and I was like, ‘Okay, this makes sense to me. This I think could be clearer. And these bits don't, so what's the intention?

And something we always spoke about was the writers had this drawing and it was basically like the timeline with all the branches coming off it. When they drew that I was like, ‘Oh, I understand it.’ Now, this makes so much more sense to me in terms of visually, how we can show this.

Is that portrayed in the show?

I used that image as the chrono monitor, and people will see it across the show. But I think it's such an effective way to explain what's going on. And I've drawn that image now so many times to actors, crew. So yes, you do start to feel like a kind of like a scientist that hasn't left their basement for a long time. Me and the writing team were always really mindful of was just making sure that people could have fun and go along with the story.

But at the same time, it is like viewing time in a whole new way. Because the TVA is rug pulling what has been set up before in the MCU – it's like almost like that bit with the Infinity Stones in episode one, where Loki sees those and to the TVA they’re paperweights.

And I remember reading that in the script and thinking, ‘Whaaaaat?’ Because of everything had been set up. And I think that's the same thing with our time travel. How we view time here is that people think of time one way but we're actually explaining in that first episode, 'No, actually, this is how time is run. And this is how the TVA do it.'

So my final question – once episode six has aired, what are you hoping people take from it? What’s the reaction you’re going for?

Oooooh, I'm hoping they'll be excited and surprised. And I'm just looking forward to the discussion, really. But I hope, excitement, surprise, and I hope they enjoy the story.

Loki episode one is streaming now on Disney Plus – for more information see our Loki release schedule guide. To watch, you can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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