Loki Trailer: MCU Phase 4, Kang the Conqueror Ties Explained

The new Loki trailer is here and it's TIME for us to take a closer look! This is your breakdown of the Loki trailer that dropped on Monday morning. You know we're about to have some fun looking at Tom Hiddleston's tremendously charismatic portrayal of the villian who escaped capture and began a new timeline in 2012 from Avengers: Endgame. This show is really going in on a time traveling multiversal adventure, so buckle up. Let's take a look! Continue reading below or feel free to check out our breakdown of the Loki trailer in video form on the ComicBook.com YouTube channel!

The trailer starts with Loki and a Time Keeper coming through a time portal, arriving at the Time Variance Authority's headquarters. The big takeaway here is that the Tesseract is now in the possession of the TVA. This means they have an Infinity Stone. This could be unimportant, but it could be a factor for those of us holding onto the story threads of the Infinity Saga but it could also mean Loki ultimately has to go back to 2012 and live out his destiny through Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War as a means to get the Infinity Stone back where it belongs.

By the way, is that a Skrull that Loki and this Time Keeper walk past upon arrival? Yes, it is, and there is certainly a Secret Invasion series on the wa which is going to feature this shapeshifting alien race in a major way.

The TVA has been monitoring Loki through his entire life, so it's going to bee tough for him to manipulate them the same way he outsmarts people like his brother Thor, but I do think this means we will get some nostalgic looks back at his previous MCU appearances, though everything beyond Thor and The Avengers has not yet happened for this version of Loki.

The TVA asks Loki to sign the paperwork accounting for everything he's ever said, I bet this includes something funny like when he turned Thor into a frog or something when we see the full scene, but the numbers on here might reveal WHEN he is at the TVA -- 5/27/83 might indicate he's gone back to May 27, 1983 and then the .02 could mean this is the second time he's been to this time or it is the second variant of Loki? 1983 seems to fit the aesthetic of the set where the TVA is, like they have advanced tech but the design of everything sort of fits 80s vibes.

During Loki's history lesson about himself, Mobius explains that he broke reality and that is visually displayed on a screen with a line representing the main timeline the TVA is trying to protect, and when Loki splinters off with the Tesseract in Endgame, he creates all of the new branch realities. This is laid out the same way it was by the Ancient One when she talked to the Hulk in Avengers: Endgame -- so, we already know about it, but it's going to be cool to see it actually play out.

We also get a look at the back of Loki's jumpsuit and it says "VARIANT" which essentially means "PRISONER" to the TVA but could also indicate that this is not the original form of the character as the main timeline knows him. We also get another shot of the Roxxcart grocery store we have seen in previous trailers. There is no official word from Marvel if the Netflix characters will be brought into the movies and Disney+ shows but Roxxon has a big presence in Marvel TV before Studios took over, so it's an intriguing nod.

Here's the big thing from the trailer and photos released on Monday: Gugu Mbatha-Raw is playing a character named Judge Renslayer. Renslayer, in comics, goes on to become a character named Revelaton, but also has major ties to Kang the Conqueror -- like, rule-the-world-together-in-one-of-the-timelines ties. We know the time traveling super villain Kang is going to appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with Jonathan Majors in the part, so Renslayer showing up in Loki makes a lot of sense -- it just also drums up the question of whether or not we will see Kang or maybe some of his alternate aliases in this Loki show.

We do get a shot of Loki on another planet sitting with somebody who looks a lot like Natasha Romanoff and the purple vibes of this planet make us think Vormir -- but I'm sorry to say, this is not going to be Black Widow finally getting to speak about not having a funeral, but I think this is actually going to be Lady Loki and Loki meeting before whatever planet they're on is ultimately destroyed (as seen in the show's first trailer)

By the way, we see lots of flashes through different timelines like a destroyed New York City and maybe even in Pompeii for the volcano's eruption -- but we also see Loki on a throne which at first glance we're like, "Oh, sweet, he's on Odin's throne just like at the end of Thor: The Dark World," except, no, it isn't! That's a whole new throne. Maybe Loki is finally getting to be a king on a throne in some alternate timeline?

Also, I just want to shout out the cat in this trailer. Nothing really important I can think of, unless of course the cat is Mephisto, but what a performance from an adorable little fur baby. Get that cat an Emmy nod and bring it back for Season 2.

What Easter eggs and references did you catch in the Loki trailer? Drop them in the comments or send them my way on Instagram! Listen to the ComicBook.com's MCU podcast, Phase Zero, on any major podcast platform this weekend for more Loki discussion!