Now that the debut season for Marvel Studios' Loki has completed its six-episode run, fans are left with plenty of questions about what's next for the God of Mischief and his new assortment of acquaintances.
But fans are also curious about the footage they saw in promotional trailers for the show that wasn't included in Season 1. The shot that's got everyone talking is of Loki seemingly taking the throne of Asgard as a crowd of his people cheer him on.
The Direct recently sat down with Loki composer Natalie Holt, who was able to shed some more light on just why this scene was cut. Interestingly, she also mentioned that the sequence included a depiction of a reference made in Thor: Ragnarok, when Loki turned Thor into a frog.
LOKI AND THROG FIGHT FOR ASGARD'S THRONE
In an exclusive interview with Loki composer Natalie Holt, The Direct learned that the highly-talked-about scene of Loki in the Asgardian throne room from promotional footage was supposed to be included in a deleted scene of Throg giving Loki a beatdown in a TVA time loop.
When asked if there were any musical themes or cues that didn't make the final cut of Loki's debut season, Holt admitted that there was a "big, grand moment where Loki takes over the crown in Asgard, and then you see Thor as a frog:"
"That was a moment in Episode 1. When Mobius is showing [Loki] his life, there were more moments in there. I think they just kind of cut it down to kind of give it a bit more focus. But there were a few extra moments in there, and that Frog of Thunder moment was one of them. I had actually written, I had done something with choir for it like it was this big, grand moment where Loki takes over the crown in Asgard, and then you see Thor as a frog."
We then asked Holt if this scene with Loki and Throg in the throne room is the same scene that many fans saw a shot of in the promotional footage for Loki. The new Marvel composer confirmed that the shot of Loki on Asgard's throne "was going to be in it" as part of the Throg sequence:
"Yeah! Where he’s like, rising like this [raises her arms] and he’s wearing a crown. Yeah, that was part of it. It was going to be in it."
After asking the Loki composer why the scene was left on the cutting room floor, she admitted that, despite it being a "really fun moment," it felt like it was "too off-piste" and the creative team didn't want to get caught up in "too many light-hearted moments" since "Loki needed to be kind of broken down in Episode 1:"
"I don’t think it got cut until quite late down the line. It’s a fun scene, but...it felt like it was kind of too off-piste. They were like well we’ve had the D.B. Cooper [scene], we need to really get into the nuts and bolts of, like, Loki needs to be kind of broken down in Episode 1, and it was like too many of those light-hearted moments. It just felt like it played better without it. But it was a really fun moment.”
Natalie Holt did, however, give fans hope that they might still get to see the "Frog of Thunder" sequence as "an extra scene at some point," before admitting that she "doesn't know where they are with that:"
"I don’t know if I should be talking about this! [Loki director Kate Herron] was hoping to release it as kind of, like, an extra scene at some point, but I don’t know. I don’t know where they are with that."
THE MCU AND THE FROG OF THUNDER
It certainly makes sense that Episode 1 of Loki couldn't be all fun and games - especially now that fans know just how consequential the events of the Disney+ show have become. Nevertheless, MCU diehards have been eager to meet Throg in his amphibious flesh ever since he was teased in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.
In the third Thor movie, Loki (while disguised as Odin) admitted that turning Thor into a frog "was indeed hilarious," confirming that it is canon to the MCU. Now, fans have also seen a Variant of Thor as a frog in Episode 5 of Loki, bringing them one step closer to seeing the Frog of Thunder in action.
Hearing that the actual moment in which Loki turned Thor into a frog was included in the Disney+ show at one point brings some clarity as to why Chris Hemsworth lent his voice for the short sequence of Throg that was shown in the series, as he certainly would have dubbed this throne room sequence as well.
Natalie Holt's comment that Loki director Kate Herron wants to release the clip as "an extra scene at some point" is certainly encouraging. The MCU loves to play the long game, but it's only a matter of time before Throg appears in all his might.
