According to Loki director Kate Herron, there was never meant to be a second season of the Disney+ series.
In an interview with Variety, Herron reveals that she knew how the season would end, just not that there would be a second one. "When I started, there wasn't a discussion of Season 2, exactly," she said. "It was just that season of Loki. As we got deeper into production, everyone was very happy, and obviously there's so much to explore with Loki. It felt like we should continue the story. So I think the cliffhanger ending came in later in the process."
The cliffhanger ending Herron is speaking on sees Loki being transported to another timeline when he is sent through Sylvie's TemPad portal. Loki goes in search of Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) only to be confronted by the information that Mobius and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) don't recognize him, despite their journeys together. Finally, he turns to see a giant statue of the One Who Remains, or one of his variants -- potentially Kang the Conqueror.
Herron mentioned that there were hints sprinkled throughout the scene to clue viewers in that Loki is in a new timeline. Sets were redressed to look slightly off, and Eugene Cordero's TVA Receptionist was recast as a hunter headed to the armory in a very quick moment. Herron's favorite part about the scene, however, was the line spoken to Loki by Mobius: "Who are you?" The final line of the show is the same line as the first, spoken by a woman in the Gobi desert. "That was kind of the question of the whole first season." Herron said.
Herron herself will not be returning for the second season of Loki, partly due to unannounced projects that the director is working on, but also because of a feeling of completion for her time on the first season. "No, I'm just focused on my own stuff at the moment," Herron said. "I love Marvel and I'd love to work with them again, but my outing with Loki is what I've done with them." Discussions for Season 2 have already begun, according to star Tom Hiddleston, who says that said discussions are "deep." Hiddleston noted Season 1's surprises, and suggested that Season 2 will be filled with even more.
Loki Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.
Source: Variety