Marvel’s Loki director confirms that the god of mischief is genderfluid

Disney+’s hit new Marvel series, Loki, will include some unexpected LGBTQIA+ representation.

According to series director Kate Herron, the god of mischief himself – once again played by Tom Hiddleston – is confirmed to be genderfluid.

Loki’s gender always has been fluid in the comics and in the character’s larger mythological history. (Where he is a shapeshifter and has often assumed the form of women, even giving birth to an eight-legged horse in one story.) Confirming his identity carries significant importance as fans identify with him and have long asked for greater representation in media.

In an eighteen-second teaser released prior to the show’s premiere this week, Loki’s gender is marked as “fluid” as part of his paperwork at the Time Variance Authority, the organization which controls the official Sacred Timeline – and which this version of Loki violated when he stole the Tesseract and disappeared during Avengers: Endgame.

In an interview with Insider, Herron called it “important” to recognize the character’s history.

"“I would say that details are marked in but it is something acknowledged,” Herron told Insider in an interview on Tuesday. “He’s gender fluid in the Norse mythology and the comics and it felt like an important thing to, as you say, make sure it’s canon.”"

Whether the character’s gender fluidity will be depicted in the six-episode series or if his pronoun preferences to be changed, is still to be determined. It is still progress however just to have official confirmation.

The LGBTQIA+ community is an important part of the Marvel Universe, so the creators felt a responsibility to deliver representation in a positive light.

Tom Hiddleston, who has played the Norse God, for over a decade now, weighs in on the subject.

"“It’s always been there in the comics for some time and in the history of the character for hundreds, if not thousands of years.”"

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the original Loki was branded as a villain and an antihero. The Disney+ series follows an alternate version of the character who escaped following the Battle of New York. The character finds himself inside a prison-like environment called The Time Variance Authority or ‘TVA’ for short.  To be granted ascendance, Loki must help ‘fix the timeline and stop a greater threat.’

New episodes of Loki stream Wednesdays on Disney+.  The series first episode, titled “Glorious Purpose“, premiered on June 9th.

Have you seen Disney+’s latest MCU installment?  What do you think of Loki’s gender identity?  Speak your piece in the comments.