Loki Director Wanted to “Normalize” Loki’s Sexuality (Phase Zero Exclusive)

The first season of Marvel Studios‘ Loki came to a close earlier this month, and it definitely changed the way fans are going to look at Marvel’s God of Mischief. Among the biggest reveals of the series was the confirmation that Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) is bisexual, something that was revealed in a poignant conversation with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) in the series’ third episode. The significance of the moment was definitely felt amongst Marvel fans, especially as it made Loki the most prominent LGBTQ+ character the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had yet. Series director Kate Herron has spoken about the personal significance of that coming out scene, and during a recent interview on ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast, the way the reveal was presented was “very important” to her.

“When I joined, it was very important to me, and it was important to the team and everyone,” Herron explained in our interview. “I think the main thought was really just about finding the right place for it and the right way to acknowledge it. And the train felt appropriate just because it’s kind of… You know, it’s weird to say, but it’s almost like a first date, right? Both these characters are kind of baring their souls and getting to know each other and being more honest about themselves. It just felt like, well, she’s trying to work him out and get to know him. So it felt like that’s the appropriate place to do it, really. And I think beyond that, it was just important that it was just… How to explain it? It’s almost just kind of said. Like how [if] someone asked me, I would just be very matter of fact about it. And I think that was also important as well. It was just normalizing it, I guess would be how [I] would say it.”

This echoes comments previously made by Marvel producer Victoria Alonso, who teased earlier this month that more LGBTQ+ representation is on the way.

“It takes time, we have so many stories that we can tell,” Alonso explained to Variety during the recent Black Widow fan premiere. “We will empower those that are. We’re not changing anything. We’re just showing the world who these people are, who these characters are… There’s a lot that we have coming up that I think will be representative of the world of today. We’re not going to nail it in the first movie or the second movie or third movie, or the first show or second show, but we will do our best to consistently try to represent.”

When it comes to Loki being part of the LGBTQ+ community, Alonso argued that the reveal was really reflective of who the character has been in the source material.

“I have to be honest with you, it’s not a big deal,” Alonso added. “It is what it is when it suits the character. We’re not going to do it because it’s politically correct or incorrect. It is what it is. Don’t forget, we follow our comics. We try to follow them quite to the tee. So in the comics, this is who he was.”

You can listen to the full Phase Zero episode with Herron here. Season 1 of Loki is now available to stream on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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