Loki Executive Producer Explains How Ke Huy Quan Landed Pivotal Season 2 Role
Here's how recent Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan wound up in the MCU for Loki Season 2.
Loki returns for its highly anticipated second season this week, picking up right where the acclaimed first installment left off. Season 1 stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are all returning for the new batch of episodes, and they're being joined by a few fresh faces. One such face belongs to Ke Huy Quan, who recently captured the hearts of millions on his way to winning an Academy Award for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Quan is taking on the role of OB in Season 2, and fans can't wait to see what he brings to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ahead of the return of Loki, executive producer Kevin Wright spoke to Variety and told the story of how Quan was cast. He was apparently on a list of potential names for OB, but the producers were encouraged to court him before Everything Everywhere All at Once was released, because he was likely to get a ton of offers once people saw him in the movie.
"We were in London, so I had at least some version of our scripts. The way the process works, they're always being rewritten, but OB was in there, and his introduction scene was almost exactly as originally written," Wright explained. "I would like to say it was in early spring, which was maybe just two months before we started shooting. We were casting, and Everything Everywhere All at Once was playing in L.A. and in New York, but it hadn't gone nationwide yet. I think it was going the very next week. We had gotten a call from our casting director who said, 'Hey, I'm about to put together a list for OB – just initial thoughts. But before I do that, I really think you guys should meet Ke, and I think it should be Ke. I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he's going to have a lot of offers for different things.'
"So that that Friday, myself, Justin and Aaron, two of our directors, had gotten on a Zoom with Ke. We pitched him the show and this character. We shared that introduction scene with him and maybe the full script. And then we called in the big guns that Monday; Kevin Feige got on the phone with him and said, 'Ke, I know you read the script. I know you talked to the guys. We really think you should do this. I really want you to join the Marvel family.' And he had already made up his mind over the weekend. It was like, 'I'm there. I've been a huge fan of this for a long time.'"
Fortunately, everything worked out, and Ke Huy Quan is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe later this week.
Marvel Studios fan-favorite Tom Hiddleston stars in Loki Season 2, returning as the titular God of Mischief for another round of time-traveling hijinx on Disney+ on October 6th. Loki is once again joined by Mobius (Owen Wilson) as the two attempt to keep the timelines intact. After the events of Season 1 saw his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kill He Who Remains and unleash the wrath of Kang the Conqueror upon the Multiverse, Loki must once again embark on an adventure to keep reality from collapsing. Loki was last seen in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he and Mobius were keeping tabs on one of Kang's mysterious variants. Loki Season 2 will continue the story of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
