Loki Season 2’s Cut Characters Prove The MCU Is Still Wrangling With The Same Problem 9 Years On

Marvel Studios is still dealing with a prominent MCU problem that was first addressed in 2014, as proven by a new reveal from a writer on Phase 5’s Loki season 2. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has introduced dozens of characters into the MCU, creating a vast shared universe with crossovers between a variety of projects. Bringing heroes and villains into multiple projects establishes a sense of interconnectivity with the MCU, yet plans for characters don’t always come to fruition. Marvel Studios’ bigger plans for the MCU mean that characters that writers and directors want to include often aren’t available, which was exactly the case for Loki season 2.

During a recent interview with New York Times, Loki season 2 writer Eric Martin revealed that Marvel Studios blocked certain characters from appearing in the Phase 5 series. The Tom Hiddleston-led series is in a strong position in the MCU, as it takes place adjacent to the franchise’s main timeline, meaning the show’s creatives have a higher degree of freedom compared to more primary MCU projects. Even so, Loki still has to follow Marvel Studios’ grander plans for the MCU. While it’s unclear which characters Martin wanted to bring into the story of Loki season 2, characters being either cut or introduced due to other ongoing projects is far from a new concept for the MCU, and has a history of being a complex topic for the franchise.

Loki Season 2’s Character Cuts Continue MCU’s “Big Picture” Issue 9 Years On

The crossover potential for characters living in the world of the MCU is massive, and has already been shown off multiple times throughout the franchise’s history, yet that doesn’t mean Marvel Studios wants to include any character in any project. While speaking about characters in Loki season 2, Eric Martin revealed that “there have been certain points where it’s like ‘Oh, you know what, this character is being used by another project,’ and you just have to pivot.” This is a complicated issue for the MCU, as each creative has a particular vision for their project, but working under the Marvel Studios banner means they don’t always get their way.

Conversely, director James Gunn noted during the production of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy that the opposite occurred. Speaking to The Vulture, Gunn revealed that Marvel Studios had wanted him to include the Mad Titan Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy, noting that “having Thanos be in that scene was more helpful to the Marvel Universe than it was to Guardians of the Galaxy.” These issues are two sides of the same coin, and suggest that this problem could plague the MCU eternally, as each individual creative has contrasting desires, different priorities, and specific visions, which are often contrary to what Marvel Studios has planned for the MCU.

Why MCU’s Character Use Problems Are Only Going To Get Bigger

The complications of several different series having overlapping characters is only set to grow as the MCU continues to expand, and new characters are introduced. In the wake of the Infinity Saga’s Avengers: Endgame, during which several high-profile heroes departed the MCU, Marvel Studios debuted a huge number of new characters. This inevitably means that there are more opportunities for characters’ stories to naturally overlap and crossover, which will become a bigger problem if these characters are being used in other projects, and don’t fit Marvel Studios’ overarching vision. As such, it’s highly likely that Loki season 2 won’t be the last time a creative faces this problem.