Marvel Studios released the first official clip of its upcoming television series Loki. The Disney+ series, set to premiere Wednesday, June 9, has already revealed plenty of details about the God of Mischief's return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans already know that this version of Loki, who escaped his own timeline in Avengers: Endgame, will find himself under the custody of the Time Variance Agency before becoming the organization's newest agent.
Loki will team Tom Hiddleston's title character up with Owen Wilson's Agent Mobius, a member of the TVA, and this first clip reveals the pair's initial meeting inside one of the organization's elevators. And as the two characters get to know each other in the scene, Loki treats fans to a subtle, yet possibly eerie, Easter egg that calls back to 2012's The Avengers using elevator's music.
The idea of "elevator music" has become somewhat of a joke throughout pop culture. It's well-known that the music found in elevator's is lively and lighthearted, and this has often been used to fill the uncomfortable void of silence that can be found in a confined area. Now, in Loki, Marvel plays around with that notion using the TVA's elevator music. As the God of Mischief and Mobius talk, fans will recognize the melodious notes of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 13 playing inside the elevator.
In the MCU, the quartet was first used in 2012's The Avengers when Loki savagely attacks the museum in Stuttgart, in order to dig into the skull of a scientist and send a digital copy of his eye to a mind-controlled Clint Barton. This was one of the darker moments of the first Avengers film, as it showed a more unhinged Loki revel in villainy, torture and tyranny. This was the God of Mischief at the height of his darkness, long before he would embark on a path to redemption.
The return of the quartet here in Loki is certainly no accident. Of course, seeing as how the upcoming television series promises to be packed with Marvel references and Easter eggs, this counts as the first of many nods to the past of the MCU. But the use of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 13 is also an important reminder that while Loki is back in his own solo series, he is a different version of himself.
After the events of The Avengers, Loki returned to Asgard as a prisoner. He later joined his brother Thor on a quest to save Jane Foster from the Dark Elves, a team-up that would pave the way for Loki's redemption. Loki would go on to once again fight alongside his brother in Thor: Ragnarok to defeat Hela and save the people of Asgard, before making the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Infinity War, where he died at the hands of Thanos.
But the Loki at the heart of the Disney+ series hasn't gone through all of this development. This Loki broke away from the main MCU timeline in the past during Avengers: Endgame before he became a prisoner in Asgard. Therefore, as far as fans are concerned, this is a Loki who is still a villain. He's more devious and conniving and definitely can't be trusted -- something the return of Schubert’s music is meant to echo. It's a reminder that this Loki is no hero -- well, not yet, at least.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Richard E. Grant. The series premieres June 9 on Disney+.