James Gunn Thanks Marvel Studios For Loki's Thanos Easter Egg

By Richard Nebens Posted:
James Gunn, Thanos, Loki logo

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Loki.

With only one more episode remaining, fans are thoroughly curious to see how the wild story of Tom Hiddleson's Loki ends after Episode 5 premiered on Disney+.

Featuring three core Loki Variants alongside the MCU's long-time God of Mischief, Hiddleston's hero made his way through the Void and learned about the formidable cloud Alioth and more madness arising. Loki and Sylvie are now on their way towards an undoubtedly dangerous situation, and there's no telling what they'll encounter in this multiversal wasteland in the season finale.

On top of the plot, Episode 5 also delivered an exceptional number of Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans enjoying this series.

Loki's brother Thor was teased in the Variants' hideout not only with a view of Mjolnir, but also with the live-action debut of Throg who was first brought up in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. The episode even featured one of the wildest Marvel Comics events with a shot of the Thanos-copter, which first appeared in the late 1970s as quite the interesting mode of transportation for the Mad Titan.

Thanos Copter Loki
Marvel

One of Marvel's most prominent directors was thrilled about this tease and shared his excitement shortly after the Thanos-copter became canon in the MCU.

JAMES GUNN CELEBRATES THANOS-COPTER

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Twitter to thank Marvel Studios for including the Thanos-copter as an Easter egg in Episode 5 of Loki on Disney+.

He replied to one of his own Tweets from early 2015 where he hoped for this to become a reality, celebrating that Marvel was "finally delivering" on this dream:

"My wish from 2015. Thanks for finally delivering Marvel Studios. #Loki #Thanoscopter #CanonAF"

EASTER EGGS FOR ALL

James Gunn helped to fully deliver Thanos into the MCU with the character's first major role in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, just months before Gunn shared his Thanos-copter dream on Twitter. Nearly seven years later, Gunn finally saw his own glorious purpose realized in this regard, as the vehicle showed its true form in The Void.

While the flying vessel is clearly one of Marvel Comics' more outlandish realizations, The Void gave the creative minds behind Loki license to do just about anything they wanted in this multiversal wasteland. Even with Thanos gone in the MCU's core timeline, his impact will live on for a long time with nods such as this one.

Whether the Thanos-copter indicates anything canon for his return is unknown, but nonetheless, it's a fun tribute to arguably the MCU's most formidable villain to date.

Marvel Studios is always on top of its game in the Easter egg department, and that hasn't changed through the course of Loki's five episodes thus far. Although there is an epic final episode to showcase, especially in terms of the story, fans will remain on the lookout for more nods to Marvel's history in comics and movies going forward.

Episode 5 of Loki is available to stream on Disney+.

- In This Article: Loki Season 2
Release Date
October 05, 2023
Platform
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.