As the reviews for Loki Season 2 continue to drop, there’s an overwhelming issue that repeatedly pops up: Jonathan Majors.
Shortly after the premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where the actor made his full debut as the MCU’s next big bad Kang the Conqueror, Majors was arrested on assault charges that brought his skyrocketing career to a screeching halt. However, Majors still appears in Loki Season 2, and according to reviews, his presence is much more prominent than Marvel has revealed.
In a new interview with Variety, Loki executive producer Kevin Wright opened up about why Majors is still in the new season despite facing assault charges. According to Wright, Loki Season 2 is the first time that Marvel shot a series that didn’t require additional photography and had every thing locked by the end of 2022. Months before Majors’ arrest.
“We went out there with a very specific idea of what we wanted this to be, and we found a way to tell it in that production period,” Wright said. “It’s very much what’s on screen on Disney+.”
As for why Marvel didn’t reshoot scenes following Majors’ arrest, Wright said that would’ve been “hasty” given Majors has yet to stand trial. (As of this writing, his next court date is October 25.)
“I know as much as you do at the moment,” Wright told Variety. “It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out.”
However, that decision has led to Majors’ awkward presence being noted in reviews for Loki Season 2.
“Majors is in this second season of Loki so much (at least through the first four episodes I saw) that it would be impossible to just take him out,” Mike Ryan wrote for Uproxx. “His imagery as Kang is everywhere. My best guess is Marvel just decided, well, here it is, and fully expect a bunch of pieces like this one to come out since it’s the first time we are seeing Majors in literally anything since his March arrest.”
“To say he’s a distraction would be an understatement, considering the role’s prominence in ‘Loki’ and its impact on the MCU’s future,” IndieWire‘s Ben Travers wrote. “Majors’ talents are undeniable, and he’s mercifully disarmed here — more comic relief than terrorizing villain — but it’s hard to kick back and enjoy his frenzied energy or stilted intonations when you know the monstrous accusations levied against the man in real life.”
Loki Season 2 premieres October 5 on Disney+.
(Via Variety)