Shortly after the third episode of “Loki” premiered on Disney +, the most recent Marvel show’s director Kate Herron confirmed that the character played by Tom Huddleston is canonically bisexual.
It makes the God of Mischief the first LGBTQ+ lead character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to appear on-screen.
Episode 3 ‘Lamentis’ shows Loki talking to Sylvie or “Lady Loki,” an alternate-reality female version of himself played by Sophia Di Martino, about his dating history, love interests and drinking desires.
Sylvie asks Loki: “What about you? You’re a prince. Must have been would-be princesses. Or perhaps another prince?”
Kate Herron confirmed the famous character’s sexuality hours later in a tweet. “From the moment I joined Loki it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual,” she tweeted.
“It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now canon in [the] MCU,” she went on.
However, in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kerron suggested the show would not delve into Loki’s sexual identity. “I would say in our story, this is how we acknowledge it,” she said.
“But I hope that that paves the way for deeper exploration,” she added
“Obviously, like I’ve said, it’s very personal to me, and I said it was a small step in some ways – because obviously, he’s just talking about it – but in the bigger scale of things, I’m like, oh no, it’s massive actually,” Kerron went on.
The public confirmation of the God of Mischief’s sexuality comes amid criticism from Marvel fans for the lack of representation of LGBTQ+ characters in the MCU movies and shows despite appearing in the comics.
Marvel producer Victoria Alonso promised a more diverse direction for the franchise’ Phase 4.
Previously, the 2017 character “Thor: Ragnarok” Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, was also confirmed to be bisexual. Back then, Thompson tweeted: “She’s bi. And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play!”
Additionally, the next film in the franchise, “The Eternals,” will feature Marvel’s first openly gay superhero: Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry.
