DISCOVER WHAT TIMELINE IS IN THE LOKI SERIES AND THE LOKI WE KNOW IS DEAD?
Loki is available on Disney Plus! If you want to know the timeline of the series in the MCU and if Loki is dead, read on! In the series, the pompous trickster teams up with Mobius, a Josta drinking agent from the Time Variance Authority, an organization determined to keep the correct order of time. Together, Loki and Mobius are a bizarre cop couple tasked with arresting a mysterious time-traveling character who disrupts history.
Are you confused? Here’s everything you need to know about the Loki series timeline or timeline versus other stories in the franchise, and how it might relate to future MCU movies.
WASN’T LOKI DECEIVED TO BE DEAD?
As if someone died in the MCU! But, yes, Loki did die in the opening minutes of Infinity War, in a heroic last-ditch effort to stop Thanos’ plans. If you remember correctly, our trickster pledges loyalty to Thanos before he tries to stab the Titan in the throat, but Thanos sees clearly in his bluff and strangles him. It was a brutal fate that shocked audiences when the film was released.
But, naturally, Marvel couldn’t give up on a fan favorite like Hiddleston’s Loki and brought back a previous incarnation in Endgame when the Avengers time-traveled to thwart Thanos. This version of Loki, who recovered the Tesseract and vanished, is the one we follow in the Loki series.
WHAT CHRONOLOGY DOES THE LOKI SERIES TAKE PLACE IN?
The answer to the question of where Loki stands in the MCU timeline is slightly convoluted. Since he teleported with the Tesseract, creating a new branching timeline. Loki takes his place after The Avengers in 2012, with the God of Mischief still a villain and several years before his redemption.
However, the series is also coming out after Endgame, and it is clear that where Loki exists, these events have also taken place, as the temporal theft had to occur for Loki to be able to teleport. That puts it in a strange position since it exists in multiple places on the timeline, or maybe none would be more accurate, but it makes sense given the implication of TVA
As Loki teleports to another timeline during Endgame. He was found by TVA and taken to their headquarters. This means that he too now exists outside of the timeline itself. This places the character in a fascinating position, allowing several possibilities for growth. Loki himself is expected to feature different time frames, so the character can be featured across the entire MCU timeline. Rather than a single fixed point, although its journey resumes more linearly from that point in 2012.
Marvel’s Phase 4 uses several different timeline tricks. Black Widow is a prequel that takes place between Civil War & Infinity War. WandaVision takes place right after Endgame but mimics several decades. Eternals will span thousands of years. This is an approach that massively extends the reach of the MCU and fits naturally with the opening up of the multiverse.
Loki is a perfect fit for both of these purposes, as it allows for the exploration of different timelines, including the many branches created in Endgame, while also creating a new character arc as an extension of The Avengers.
