Marvel Studios' next project will release in October with Loki Season 2 on Disney+, and the disappointment of Secret Invasion has some fans concerned.
The MCU has been putting out more content than ever in the post-Avengers: Endgame world. So, coming off the controversial ending of Secret Invasion, the franchise's next Disney+ series, Loki Season 2, already isn't far away.
The studio was quick to get marketing underway after Secret Invasion concluded, dropping a new poster and the first trailer across the week that followed.
Loki Season 2 now has to contend with being the next MCU project coming off the disappointment of Secret Invasion and the controversy surrounding Kang actor Jonathan Majors amid his ongoing assault case.
Will Loki Season 2 Flop After Secret Invasion Disappointment
Secret Invasion may be one of the MCU's disappointing projects yet in the eyes of many.
The Disney+ show has been bombarded with major criticism and the finale became the franchise's worst-rated episode ever on Rotten Tomatoes.
As such, and with the MCU having suffered many other disappointments in the last few years, some are worried going into this October's Loki Season 2.
While reactions to the Season 2 trailer have been extremely positive, some, such as @mrnose20, are "worried about how it will end up" after the disappointment of Secret Invasion:
"Finally got a chance to see the 'Loki' Season 2 trailer. It looks like it could be as much fun as Season 1 but if I'm honest after 'Secret Invasion' I'm worried about how it will end up."
Generally, Loki Season 1 is regarded as "great" and among the MCU's best Disney+ shows, but @Valvinny2 is still "really scared" for what could happen after Secret Invasion didn't live up to expectations:
"I'm actually really scared for 'Loki' season the season 1 was great and from the trailer season 2 looks good too but I don't want it to be like secret invasion I'm seriously worried I don't want this show to be ruined"
Secret Invasion's disappointment has made some go as far as to say they are "done" with the franchise, as the Loki Season 2 trailer left @Thanrand with "complete apathy:"
"I watched the trailer for 'Loki' season 2 and came away feeling complete apathy.
After the disappointment of 'Secret Invasion' I think I'm just done with all of that."
@itsMrFusion shared their belief the MCU has had a "very recent string of awful [films]" and mixed shows, but still hopes Loki "gets things back on track:"
"While I'm very excited for 'Loki' Season 2, I'm also much more apprehensive now that we are a very recent string of awful MCU films and 'Secret Invasion.'
'Ms. Marvel' was great
'She-Hulk' was good
'Moon Knight' was ok
Maybe 'Loki' gets things back on track."
Secret Invasion was marketed as the MCU's first "crossover event" series, which has @Darkmanbeyond "very afraid" for what that means for one of its standard Disney+ shows like Loki Season 2:
"If this was gonna be their big event TV show then I'm very afraid for 'Loki' season 2"
The Secret Invasion finale and its ending were a particular point of contention for many, and that fact has @akitetbh scared about Loki's next season:
"I’m scared for 'Loki' season 2 if this is how mcu series are ending now with 'Secret Invasion'"
Some have argued the MCU's Disney+ shows have "been going downhill" since the days of WandaVision and Loki, so @southside747 is hoping the upcoming "Season 2 is as good as Season 1:"
"Just watched the 'Secret Invasion finale…. What a let down this show was … not even mid…. 'WandaVision' was better and 'Loki' was a lot a lot better… quality of Marvel D+ shows has been going down hill …. hopefully 'Loki' season 2 is as good as season 1"
As the Hollywood writer and actor strikes continue, @JonnyMcGarrigle is happy Marvel Studios will have "no rushed reshoots" to resolve its Jonathan Majors predicament as the actor's assault trial looms:
"Marvel TV's batting average is so low that I can't even think 'Surely 'Loki' Season 2 will be better than 'Secret Invasion'' because at this point anything is possible.
At least the strikes presumably mean no rushed reshoots attempting to solve the Majors issue"
Even before Secret Invasion, Marvel Studios already had one disappointment this year with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which has left @DarthVicc61317 to say they will be "done" if the upcoming season is another disaster:
"If Marvel messes up 'Loki' Season 2 like 'Secret Invasion' then I'm officially done. Just for the record."
Why Fans Shouldn't Worry About Loki Season 2
The MCU may be coming off a massive loss with fans in Secret Invasion, but there's still plenty of reason to believe Loki Season 2 won't suffer the same problems.
While it may feel like the post-Endgame MCU has been all doom and gloom, there have been plenty of big wins to celebrate in the last two years.
Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 have all been successful big-screen ventures, while WandaVision, Loki, and Moon Knight have been some of Disney+'s bigger wins.
That said, there have still been a fair share of disappointing movies and shows over the last few years, here's why Loki Season 2 won't be one of them.
Loki's Writer & Director Replacements Are Perfect
While Loki's freshman season may be regarded among Disney+'s best, there is some cause for concern as Season 2 will bring a whole new creative team, however, Marvel Studios has chosen some excellent replacements.
Moon Knight's Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will direct the majority of Season 2 episodes while frequent MCU VFX supervisor Dan Deleeuw also helms at least one installment. Overall, Moon Knight is regarded as one of Phase 4's best projects, meaning Loki is in safe hands with Benson and Moorhead.
Eric Martin will arguably serve as the perfect head writer replacement for Michael Waldron as he already worked on Season 1 as the writer of Episode 4, "The Nexus Event," and the co-writer of Episode 6, "For All Time. Always," which are often regarded as the show's two best episodes.
Loki Season 2's Familiar Characters
While Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn's Talos were the official leads of Secret Invasion, much of the story was carried by its new characters such as Emilia Clarke's G'iah, Kingsley Ben-Adir's Gravik, Olivia Colman's Sonya Falsworth, and Charlayne Woodard's Priscilla Fury.
The handling of all these new characters was one of the major criticisms of Secret Invasion, but that won't be a problem Loki Season 2 has to contend with. The series will continue to focus on its original cast of Loki, Sylvie, Mobius, and the rest, along with only a few new characters in supporting roles.
An Important and Original Story for Loki
Secret Invasion set itself a tough task in adapting one of Marvel's most famous crossover events of all time and doing so without most of the characters and scale that were integral to the original comic series. Thus, expectations were through the roof for Disney+'s first MCU "crossover event" series.
While Loki Season 2 has a high bar to reach as Season 1 remains the MCU's most successful series yet, the Kang-centric story will be a completely original one, and therefore won't be met with as many expectations from fans going in.
Another criticism of Secret Invasion came in its lack of fallout and MCU impact, something Loki Season 2 is bound to have plenty of as it revisits the saga of Kang the Conqueror and continues to set up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Loki Season 2 will premiere on October 6, exclusively on Disney+ where all six episodes of Secret Invasion are streaming now.
