Jonathan Majors made his MCU debut in Loki’s first season as He Who Remains, a powerful Kang Variant. But there was almost a different Kang who would’ve popped up in Season 1 as well.
Loki premiered in 2021 on Disney+, near the outset of Marvel Studios’ sweeping Multiverse Saga, right as fans were catching wind of the identity of the MCU’s next big bad.
The evildoer in question? Kang the Conqueror and his many Variants, all portrayed by actor Jonathan Majors. The franchise’s faithful have already borne witness to several versions of Kang, with likely multitudes to come.
Victor Timely Was Considered for Loki Season 1
The fearsome Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors), first glimpsed in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumaina’s post-credits scene was initially planned for Loki’s freshman run, according to producer Kevin Wright (via Moviefone).
As for the reason why Timely was removed from those plans? According to Wright, there was already “too much story:”
“I think for us, it wasn’t a challenge. I think the fun thing was, we knew we wanted to do Victor. Victor was an idea that we were trying to get into season one, and it was just never going to be able to fit because there’s too much story. But it was exciting because the last thing we’re hearing is that war’s coming. All of these terrible things are happening, and then the most unexpected version of this guy pops up, and he pops up in the past. That was exciting.”
Viewers can rest assured however, because as the producer (and the marketing) have indicated, Victor Timely has a part to play in Loki Season 2, which is currently airing on Disney+.
Wright also made mention of the fact that Kang can essentially “pop up in any form” through a seemingly limitless number of his Variants who exist across the Multiverse:
“He was going to be an eccentric. I think for us, we were like, “Are we going to be allowed to do this? Do we have to go further and do the scary version?” It was nothing but embraced because I think it just allows for that much more dynamic storytelling going forward that this guy can be anyone. He can pop up in any form. That’s what gets exciting about it.”
Timely Has His Time To Shine in Loki Season 2
Even though Victor Timely was ultimately cut from Loki‘s first season, Jonathan Majors will play the character (and perhaps other Kangs as well) in at least three Season 2 episodes, reportedly.
There’s indeed no shortage of Kang in the upcoming MCU, especially considering that the next Avengers film is titled The Kang Dynasty.
The elephant in the room remains Majors’ very public legal battles, however. It’s something that those involved with Loki have labeled “complicated.” Marvel Studios on the whole has also remained silent on the matter.
Marvel Studios’ Loki Season 2 releases new episodes every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. EST, with the next one arriving on October 19.
