Loki Season 2 Takes a Shot at Martin Scorsese "Cinema" Comments

Loki's sophomore season is now underway, with its second episode premiering on Disney+ on Thursday night. The series is continuing to expand upon the mythos of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while laying the groundwork for the franchise's future superhero stories. The second episode of Loki Season 2 was no exception, introducing an unconventional subplot — while also possibly poking fun at one of the biggest criticisms of the saga. Spoilers for Episode 2 of Loki Season 2 below! Only look if you want to know!

Much of the plot of the episode concerned Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) tracking down Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal), who had last been seen in the hunt to find Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). As it turns out, X-5 had actually been operating as a human on Earth for a while — more specifically, Brad Wolfe, an actor who stars in the Zaniac movies. Throughout the episode, X-5/Wolfe seems to be searching for feedback on Zaniac, and at one point refers to his work as "cinema." While this moment is brief, it probably caught the attention of fans who are already familiar with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese's real-world comments about the MCU and franchise media.

What Has Martin Scorsese Said About Marvel Movies?

Scorsese first became culturally tied to the MCU in 2019, when he argued in an interview that the movies are more akin to a theme park ride than "cinema", in terms of how they are manufactured and the emotions they seek to elicit from audiences. These initial comments provoked some spirited responses from fans of the franchise, as well as from a number of superhero actors. In the years since, and also as Scorsese has recently promoted his upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon, he has doubled down on the sentiment, most recently arguing to GQ UK that the modern studio system is prioritizing "manufactured content" over true art.

"I do think that the manufactured content isn't really cinema," Scorsese said in part. "No, I don't want to say it. But what I mean is that, it's manufactured content. It's almost like AI making a film. And that doesn't mean that you don't have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean? What do these films – what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?"

What Is Loki Season 2 About?

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.

ComicBook.com's podcast Phase Zero will be recording live episodes every week following Loki season 2's new episodes on Disney+. Each week we will review, breakdown, and discuss the latest installment of the new Marvel series immediately after the episode's conclusion! The new episodes will be broadcast live on the Phase Zero channel on YouTube before being made available on all major podcast platforms. Phase Zero will begin its 5-minute timer to start the live show at 9:45pm ET on Thursday, October 5. You can subscribe to the Phase Zero channel now and turn on notifications to make sure you don't miss the Loki Season 2 bonus episodes!