MCU Creators Considered Making Loki's Wildest Kang Theory Reality

The team behind Marvel's Loki considered making a major He Who Remains change that would have made the show's wildest Kang the Conqueror theory true.

Loki season 1 could have had He Who Remains as the variant of another major Marvel Cinematic Universe character, not Kang the Conqueror, making Loki's wildest Kang theory true. Jonathan Majors first debuted as He Who Remains in Loki, then played Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but things could have been very different.

Speaking with Den of Geek, Loki producer Kevin Wright revealed that the team behind the series considered making He Who Remains a Loki variant. Check out the full quote below:

“We just thought [He Who Remains] would be a great title for the last man standing in the multiversal war. In the writers’ room, all ideas are on the table, and there were conversations about what if Loki was He Who Remains. Those conversations didn’t get very far; I don’t think it even got to Tom [Hiddleston] because while there is something fun about that, and there are compelling aspects to it, it makes the universe feel small. So, it was always going to be He Who Remains, always a version of Kang.”

The MCU Finally Remembers The Avengers Replacements Exist 2 Years After Their $400M Debut

The MCU Phase 4 and 5 have faced criticism for not doing much with its newly introduced characters, but a fun Easter egg helps rectify that.

After almost two years of relative silence, it looks like the MCU is finally ready to start acknowledging The Eternals' hidden history in the timeline, with a subtle nod to the team's existence in Loki season 2, episode 2. Eternals opened to mixed reviews in November 2021, setting up multiple storylines to explore, yet the team has been largely ignored ever since, except for one or two very well-hidden Easter eggs. The Eternals have been operating on Earth for centuries, secretly pulling the strings of human history. However, outside their feature film, the team has been sidelined.

Directed by Chloé Zao, Eternals was an ambitious project that spanned across centuries. It set up a number of storylines that seemed crucial to the future of the MCU, including Tiamut the Celestial being left frozen and exposed in the middle of the ocean. Apart from a passing reference to Tiamut in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, these stories have been left untouched. The film's poor reception means it's unclear when these characters will be revisited, but the Loki Easter Egg is a timely acknowledgment of The Eternals' past.

Loki's Eternals Reference Explained

Loki season 2, episode 2 features a number of Easter eggs, but with the time-traveling focus of the series, it was the perfect moment to acknowledge a group of immortal beings, even if it was a subtle reminder. As Loki and Mobius walk through London’s West End in 1977 to confront X5/Brad Wolfe, they walk past some movie posters, including one featuring the likeness of Eternals hero, Kingo. At one point in Eternals, the team splits up, leaving each to pursue their own path. Kingo, played by Kumail Nunjiani, has abandoned a life in the shadows for a more public one as a Bollywood star.

How Kingo Is Around in Loki's 1977

It's not the first time the MCU has provided a knowing nod to Kingo and his acting career, with the charismatic superhero previously featured in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The short film’s major focus is on Drax the Destroyer and Mantis as they look to bring Kevin Bacon to Star-Lord as his Christmas gift. As the duo seeks out the Hollywood actor they pass a couple of posters for Kingo's movies. As a Bollywood superstar, Kingo has appeared in countless films over the years, but the most recent reference hints at a possible future for Kingo and The Eternals in the MCU.

The Eternals previous existence has never been touched on in the MCU, however. By living such a public life, Kingo's longevity as a performer would surely be questioned at some point. In Eternals, Kingo covered his immortality by simply claiming to be from a long line of actors who replaced each other every generation. The poster in 1977 is likely to be Kingo's "father." At some point, the hidden history of the first team to replace The Avengers needed to be remembered, and it makes sense that a series like Loki focused on time travel would be the place to finally do it.

Netflix's New Horror Show Just Staged The Reacher Reunion We've Been Waiting For

Netflix's latest horror series has staged a reunion between two key cast members of Reacher, who won't be returning for season 2 of Amazon's show.

Netflix's new horror miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher stages the Reacher union that Amazon's series has denied viewers. While the Tom Cruise duology of Jack Reacher movies may have been a financial success, the casting of the actor himself was - and remains - controversial among fans of the books. Amazon's Reacher found its perfect embodiment of the titular avenger in Alan Ritchson, who had both the stoic humor, charm and physique to bring the hulking character to life. Perfect as Ritchson was, his co-stars in the first season deserve equal praise.

Reacher season 1 cast Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe and Malcolm Goodwin as Finlay, and adapted the first novel in Lee Child's series Killing Floor. Roscoe fan Finlay help Reacher investigate the murder of Reacher's brother, which thus uncovers a criminal conspiracy taking place in Margrave. Reacher, Roscoe and Finlay made for a very likable trio, and while they survive the events of the story, viewers were soon disappointed to learn Fitzgerald and Goodwin wouldn't be returning for Reacher season 2. The next season skips ahead ten books to Bad Luck and Trouble, where neither Roscoe nor Finlay make appearances or even get a passing reference.

Reacher's Willa Fitzgerald & Malcolm Goodwin Reunite In Fall Of The House Of Usher

While they aren't returning for more Reacher (at least for now), Fitzgerald and Goodwin made an unexpected reunion for Netflix's well-reviewed Fall of the House of Usher. This is Mike Flanagan's latest - and final - horror series for the streamer and is based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The show also features many flashbacks to the past, where the younger version of Mary McDonnell's morally bankrupt Madeline Usher is played by Fitzgerald.

The younger version of Carl Lumbly's Auguste Dupin, meanwhile, is played by Goodwin. Unfortunately, the nature of the story means Fitzgerald and Goodwin don't get to interact much, though they share several scenes. Still, Fall of the House of Usher gives them both juicy roles, and it's just nice to see them together onscreen following the news that Reacher season 2 wouldn't be bringing them back.

Willa Fitzgerard's Usher Villain Is The Total Opposite Of Reacher's Roscoe

Goodwin's Dupin is more optimistic and less cynical than Reacher's Finlay - though the events that take place in The Fall of the House of Usher quickly show Dupin how ugly his feud with the Ushers would become. Still, Dupin and Finlay share some things in common, including the belief that justice will prevail. The same can't be said for Fitzgerald's Madeleine, whose ruthless ambition and willingness to do whatever is necessary - up to and including murder - are in stark contrast to Reacher's Roscoe.

Fitzgerald's Roscoe might be the most optimistic of the central trio, but she still has an inner toughness and sense of duty that drives her to solve the case. It's this inner goodness that made viewers (and Reacher himself) warm to the character, with Child himself stating Fitzgerald's take on Roscoe was superior to the one found in Killing Floor. That's what makes the actor's turn in The Fall of the House of Usher so startling, as there's barely a trace of humanity to be found in Madeleine.

Her brother Roderick (Zach Gilford) appears to be the only other human being she cares about, and even that's debatable. That means the dynamic between Fitzgerald and Goodwin is quite different during their scenes together, with the former's character always carrying a hint of malice. This versatility should work in Fitzgerald's favor as she moves on from Reacher - and hopefully means she'll have a few more villain roles in the future.

Why Roscoe And Finlay Aren't Returning For Reacher Season 2

ng characters in Childs' books, and Reacher has never returned to Margrave or encountered Roscoe or Finlay again following the events of Killing Floor.

Amazon's show will be doing the same, and while it's not impossible that Fitzgerald or Goodwin could make guest appearances in future series, they won't be back for Bad Luck and Trouble. This makes their stealth reunion in The Fall of the House of Usher all the more fun. Again, it would have been better if their characters had more interactions with one another, but it still stages the Reacher reunion that Amazon couldn't provide.