As of this week’s episode, Loki Season 2 is already halfway over. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been torn apart by time, nearly boxed a guy to death, and now with Loki Season 2, Episode 3 we’re ready for the main event: it’s time to meet Kang.
…Sort of. There’s a lot to sift through when it comes to the villain who is still ostensibly going to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) next great bad guy after Thanos. Particularly given star Jonathan Majors’s ongoing legal troubles. So it’s fair to ask questions like: Is Kang in Loki Season 2? Is Jonathan Majors still Kang? And who is Kang, anyway?
If you do have any of those questions, great news: this is the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of the time-traveling villain (Kang, to be clear, not Majors, he can’t time travel to our knowledge).
Who Created The TVA?
Let’s start with the simplest answer. The Time Variance Authority (TVA), the police force that keeps the Sacred Timeline intact and the multiverse from spiraling out of control, was created by a being named He Who Remains. The character, played by Jonathan Majors, was introduced in the season one finale of Loki in his citadel at the end of time. There, he laid out a ton of exposition for Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).
That is, before Sylvie kicked Loki back through a portal to the TVA, and killed He Who Remains.
Who Is He Who Remains?
We don’t actually have an official name for He Who Remains other than… He Who Remains. However, he was just a regular scientist until, thanks to the magic of the multiverse, discovered he had variants of himself on other, branching timelines. As He Who Remains explains, initially the more science-focused variants worked together to create scientific miracles, leading to advanced technology like the TVA’s portal technology, the TemPads that allow them to travel through time, and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), the cartoon clock who helps out the TVA.
Due to the infinite nature of the multiverse, not all variants of He Who Remains were good guys. In fact, a lot of them were very, very bad. One of the worst? Kang The Conqueror, also played by Jonathan Majors. We didn’t meet him in Loki… We actually met him after being sent into exile by other variants in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
So is He Who Remains also named Kang? Maybe, maybe not. In the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania end credits scene we meet hundreds of other variants of the character. Though we don’t get to hear their names, comic book fans were able to identify some of them as other identities Kang has held throughout Marvel Comics history. Those include Immortus, Rama Tut, and Scarlet Centurion. They’re all the same guy, but all have different names. It’s possible his original name is Kang across the board, but it’s also possible his original name was Samantha. Or something else.
Who Is Victor Timely? Is He Also Kang?
Based on trailers for Loki, and an end credits scene from Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, we know that we will be meeting an extremely early in the timeline version of the character. His name? Victor Timely. Also played by Jonathan Majors, Victor Timely in the comics is one original version of Kang, an inventor around the dawn of electricity who made a scientific leap, ultimately leading to time travel.
We don’t yet know exactly how he’ll show up in Loki, but we do know that Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) see him giving a presentation, and Loki finds him terrifying. Perhaps important to note: this is not He Who Remains, who is dead. This is a variant of the character, just like Kang in Ant-Man 3. Same actor, different guy. It’s confusing!
Is Jonathan Majors In Loki Season 2?
You probably figured this out based on reading everything written up above, but yes: Jonathan Majors is in Loki Season 2. In fact, Kevin Wright, Co-Executive Producer of Loki, stated in an interview with Uproxx that there was never a plan to take Jonathan Majors out of Loki Season 2.
“The show that is on-screen, that will be, going out, is the show that we wanted to make,” Wright told UpRoxx. “Victor Timely was always a big part of that. The story that is there is what was written, what was shot. This is maybe the first Marvel movie or show with zero additional photography. So I think we feel strongly about what the story is, what the performances are. And we’re happy with it, and it’s what the show is. And what happened afterwards, none of us really know. And we’ll see.”
But wait, what happened afterward? Let’s discuss.
What Is Going On With Jonathan Majors’ Legal Troubles?
I want to emphasize very strongly here that this is not a legal website, nor can we speak effectively to ongoing court cases we don’t have any inside information about. However, here’s the shortened version of what went down.
On March 25, 2023, Majors was arrested in New York City as part of an alleged domestic dispute between him, and his girlfriend at the time. He was charged with strangulation, assault, and harassment. Subsequently, Majors was dropped by pretty much every one of his current ongoing projects including his PR company, and several movie roles. A Texas Rangers promo he had filmed stopped airing, as well. A month later, additional abuse victims allegedly came forward to talk to the New York District Attorney’s office.
The court case for the initial domestic dispute has been hit with several delays, but will now begin on October 25. However, Marvel has not released any statements about Majors other than the above interview with Wright (he gave similar quotes to multiple outlets).
Is Jonathan Majors Still Kang?
As of the moment? Yes, Jonathan Majors is still playing Kang in Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. As well as, presumably, other projects. One would assume if things don’t turn out in Majors’ favor during this month’s court case that circumstances will change. But as is, Marvel seems to be sticking with the actor for the moment. At the very least, he’ll be playing Victor Timely — and maybe other variants — in Loki Season 2.
3 thoughts on “Is Kang In Loki Season 2? Well… Sort Of”