15/11/2023

How Marvel Fan Theories Affect The MCU Addressed By Loki Season 2 Producer

Loki season 2 producer Kevin Wright discusses the surprising ways in which Marvel fan theories affect filmmaking in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Warning: SPOILERS for Loki season 2.

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Summary

The emotional ending of Loki season 2 was a fitting and satisfying culmination of Tom Hiddleston’s tenure in the MCU, defying fan theories and delivering a memorable finale.
Fan theories are encouraged by the MCU and filmmakers like Kevin Wright engage with them. Every frame is intentionally created to withstand scrutiny and engage with the audience.
While fan theories are fun and contribute to the success of the MCU, it’s important to remember that they are just theories. Filmmakers should have creative freedom and not be bound by fan expectations to ensure the future success of the franchise.

Loki season 2 ended with a bang, seeing Loki destroying the Temporal Loom and taking matters into his own hands—literally—by holding the infinite strands of the multiverse together. The emotional ending was a fitting culmination of Tom Hiddleston’s decade-plus tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a worthy potential end to Loki’s story. The surprising end of the season bucked many fan theories and ultimately delivered a satisfying and memorable finale.

Given the massive scope of season 2’s story, it’s no surprise that theories abound relating to things like how Loki sets up Avengers 5 and Deadpool 3. The MCU has encouraged fan theories since its inception, to the point where the filmmakers behind franchise projects are now very aware of the scrutiny surrounding them. Loki producer Kevin Wright touched on the phenomenon during a recent chat with Screen Rant and discussed his interaction with fan theories:

Kevin Wright: I’m going to admit, I love reading all that, and we would read all of it in season one, we would read everything afterwards, I would joke about it with Tom, all of it goes into the blender. Oftentimes, it’s not really influencing you other than you’re aware of it. And, something that Kate [Herron] and I talked a lot about in season 1 that led everything we did now in season 2 with Justin and Aaron was like, “We know people are watching it that way, and that every frame is going to be frozen and looked at, so anything that you’re putting there needs to be highly intentional, and be able to withstand the scrutiny of people looking at it.”

I think, to us — to me specifically — it’s a nice way to engage with the audience and be like, “I know you’re looking and we know that you’re looking, so we are going to put things there to acknowledge I know you’re looking. And maybe some of those things are pointing in the right direction, others might be there to purposely throw people off, or make them think one thing so that we can hit them harder with something else.” My one fun one that I saw this season — well, two things actually, one is that Jack, the manager of McDonald’s, was young Mobius. Never crossed their minds, that was very fun. And [the other is] that Mobius is maybe a variant of Odin. I was like, “That’s fun.”

So, I don’t know, we’re looking, at least I’m looking, Justin and Aaron would frequently tell me to stop looking and I’m like, “I can’t help it. I love it!” And I think the show is better because of that, though, because we are engaging with it.

Why MCU Fan Theories Can Be Fun (& When They Go Too Far)

Fan theories are, in many ways, key to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’re a fun way for viewers to engage with the latest film or show; whether or not an audience member has read a relevant comic, they can easily have a discussion with friends about their MCU predictions. The more comic-oriented fans can lend their knowledge to the discussion as well, suggesting things like the idea that Loki is Doctor Doom’s replacement in Avengers 6.

The interconnected nature of the MCU makes fan theories even more fun and viable, and it’s interesting to hear that people like Kevin Wright in positions of power are tracking them.

The theory that Loki’s powers can cause Iron Man’s MCU return is intriguing for fans, and likely enjoyable for the people who have almost definitely had boardroom discussions about similar concepts. Whether something like that theory will be addressed in the future, on the other hand, is another story.

Ultimately, Wright’s discussion of the varied ways in which MCU filmmakers account for fan theories is important to keep in mind. Fan theories are just that, and although people like Kevin Wright engage with them, they can become destructive to the audience experience when they turn into hard expectations. Filmmakers behind MCU entries like Loki deserve creative license and the trust of their audience; it’s a danger to the creative success of future projects to be beholden to the whims of theories, no matter how fun they may be.