- Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the "Loki" season two finale.
- The episode could have major consequences across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The "Loki" season two finale may have changed everything for Marvel's multiverse and its Jonathan Majors problem.
Since 2021, the multiverse has been the next big venture for the MCU, and Majors was expected to be the franchise's new big bad, playing the time-traveling villain, Kang the Conqueror.
In March, that plan hit a stumbling block when Majors was arrested in connection with a domestic dispute. The actor's management, PR firms, and multiple projects subsequently dropped him.
Marvel Studios has yet to issue a definitive statement on Majors' future in the MCU, but the actor appeared in the latest season of "Loki," which was filmed prior to his arrest.
Should Marvel need an out from Majors playing the MCU's next big villain, Thursday's "Loki" season two finale could be the solution.
In the episode, Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, decides to take matters into his own hands after a season of trying to keep the multiverse functioning without pruning — destroying — entire timelines.
After gaining new abilities from his time-hopping adventures, Loki takes control of the multiverse with his bare hands, and he now sits at the end of time, holding the multiverse together for the rest of his existence.
Here's why this plot development could solve the MCU's Majors problem.
With Loki now in charge of the timeline, everything we've seen before can be changed
There is a small hint in the finale that indicates that the new multiverse may be a little different with Loki in charge.
Earlier in season two, the show established that Victor Timely created the Time Variance Authority and its machinery after learning from a TVA handbook he received as a child. That handbook came from the TVA itself, which caused a slightly confusing chicken-or-egg situation.
In the finale, we return to the scene with young Timely, but he doesn't receive the book this time. Of course, Timely is just one of many Kang variants — versions of Kang from different timelines — but this scene at least indicates some changes to the timeline under Loki's guardianship.
It may be a bit of a cop-out, but Marvel could use this opportunity to erase the "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" post-credits scene that introduced all the Kang variants.
With Loki now in charge of the multiverse, they could easily explain that Kang wasn't able to gain as much power as he did pre-Loki.
The finale wouldn't completely erase the events of "Quantumania," because the battle between Kang and Ant-Man appears to be referenced in the final moments of the episode between Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, and B-15, played by Wunmi Mosaku.
In the scene, Mobius says that there is only one Kang variant threat in a "616-adjacent realm," which could be a reference to the Quantum Realm. That Kang was defeated just like the Kang in "Quantumania."
If "Quantumania" Kang is the only variant on their radar, that could mean the larger Kang threat is neutralized for now.
This could mean a new big bad in the MCU
If Marvel chooses to part ways with Majors, the "Loki" finale paves the way for a few different solutions to replace him as the MCU's big bad in the upcoming "Avengers" movies.
Considering that Loki is seemingly now in control of the multiverse and has already started meddling with Kang variants like Timely, Marvel could use this as a pretext to explain recasting Majors.
"Why does Kang look different?"
"Because Loki's trying to keep the timeline free from chaos, and this variant comes from a brand-new timeline."
Alternatively, Marvel could downsize Kang's role altogether and shift to a new villain to antagonize the Avengers in 2027's "Secret Wars."
Say hello to everyone's favorite Latverian dictator, Doctor Doom.
Variety recently reported that Marvel bosses discussed making the "Fantastic Four" baddie the MCU's new villain during a company retreat in September.
Granted, this could still cause a bit of a headache because, before "Secret Wars," the heroes of the MCU are first expected to assemble in 2026's "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty."
If Marvel does switch things up, that movie may need a new title and overall direction.
But with the Fantastic Four soon set to join the MCU in their own movie in 2025, their adventure could serve as a launching pad to set up Doctor Doom as the villain of the 2026 and 2027 "Avengers" movies.
Watch this space.