Loki Binge List

We’re one month away until the premiere of the much anticipated Loki Disney+ series. Loki has been a fan-favorite baddie for years and since we’re looking at Loki 2.0 for this series, it’ll be interesting to see how our timeline-diverging trickster will compare to Loki 1.0, who died in Endgame. Especially intriguing is how this series will tie into the Doctor Strange sequel, along with WandaVision. It seems we may have some clues from the trailer, but there’s still so much we don’t know. But as we wait for answers, let’s review some Loki history before he arrives on streaming.

Thor (1 hour 55 min)

It was Loki’s first movie and we got plenty of backstory between his rivalry with Thor and his story with his father (both of them). So if you’re going to watch any of Loki’s movies before the Disney+ series, make sure you watch Loki and the Destroyer take on Thor, his friends, and Odin. Also, if you’re like me, you’re going through Darcy withdrawals after WandaVision, so she’ll liven up your day in this movie.

The Avengers (2 hours 24 min)

This is where rubber hit the road for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Loki had already arrived on Earth in spirit during the credits scene of Thor, but he came through physically here before brainwashing Hawkeye and Dr. Selvig. He may have started the Chitauri invasion and instigated the Battle of New York, but if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have the Avengers. And at least he was captured in the end… at least in the original timeline.

Thor: The Dark World (1 hour 52 min)

Here is where our optional viewing begins, since Loki 1.0 here is different from the Loki we’ll see in the series. But regardless of which version of the trickster, he’s more or less the same guy right? So give Dark World a spin (unless you’re one of its haters). Plus there’s more Darcy here.

Thor: Ragnarok (2 hours 10 min)

After posing as Odin for a few years, we got Loki 1.0 reluctantly teaming up with Thor to escape Sakaar. Loki’s experiences on Sakaar probably won’t be relevant in the Disney+ series, but since this is most people’s favorite Thor movie, it’s always worth rewatching anyway, even if it would technically be optional viewing.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 40 min)

Loki 1.0 only appears during the first fight with Thanos during this movie, but if you’re going to do our optional viewing for Loki, you can’t just leave out Infinity War. For one thing, it sets up Endgame (which we’ll get to in a second). For another, how do you skip Loki’s death scene? If any Loki 1.0 scenes are going to be relevant in the series, I think it’ll be his death.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

This is our first and last movie on the list that does not have an appearance exclusive to Loki 1.0. Instead, we pick back up where we left Loki in Avengers Tower at the end of the Battle of New York. In an attempt for 2023 Tony and Scott to get the Tesseract, they inadvertently let Loki escape with the Tesseract. Enter Loki 2.0. And that’s where our story begins in June…

I’m anxious to see where the Loki Disney+ series will take us by the end of its run. It’s already set for a second season and, as I said, we already know it’ll tie into the Doctor Strange sequel. Will we get an appearance from Doctor Strange or Wanda? Or maybe a cameo from Thor? I guess we’ll find out in a month. 

Updated 9/27/23 to Prep for Season 2

Loki (Season 1, Episodes 1-6)

So Loki 2.0 has escaped with the Tesseract only to be captured by the TVA. As a result he meets Mobius and Sylvie and the multiverse is jumpstarted. Still not 100% sure that it was a good idea, but because of Sylvie killing He Who Remains, we got What If, Spider-Man 3, and Doctor Strange 2. But where does this leave the TVA? I guess we'll find out soon. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2 hours 5 min)

I know this wasn't everyone's favorite Marvel movie, but it's Ant-Man and I love Paul Rudd. In addition, we got more Kang, the variant of He Who Remains. And even though he was defeated, we also got a whole Council of Kangs. One of these Kang variants seems to be related to Loki and Mobius... so I'm sure we'll get more of that scene in Loki Season 2. That would be awkward if we didn't.