Loki is, arguably, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most successful series (so far), scoring the biggest Marvel premiere in Disney+ to date. Directed by Kate Herron, the show sees the return of Tom Hiddleston as the titular villain/superhero following the events of Avengers: Endgame. The cast also includes Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, and Sophia Di Martino among others.

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The series wrapped up with the revelation that Loki was returning for a second season. And while Hiddleston is set to return (silver fox Wilson and the rest of the core cast members are expected to reprise their roles too), it has been announced that Herron is exiting the Marvel show.

It Was A Gig That She ‘Chased Heavily’

Perhaps, long before Herron even got on the MCU’s radar, she was already a huge fan, especially when it came to how it dealt with Loki. “I was just so excited with what Kevin Feige was doing with him in the MCU, and I think Tom’s performance brought such empathy and wit and charisma to this amazing character,” Herron told Elle. “But at the same time I loved the vulnerability there and the pain. It was so exciting to me watching him go from villain to antihero over the last 10 years.”

Hence, when MCU ventured into Disney+ and announced its intentions to do a series around the god of mischief, Herron knew she had to get the job. “I would say I chased heavily after it as a Loki fan,” Herron remarked. That said, she knew that she wouldn’t necessarily be the most experienced director in the room, having only directed several miniseries (with one starring Marvel Idris Elba) and the series Sex Education.

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And so, Herron prepared for what seemed like the pitch of a lifetime. “So I got as much information as I could, and they sent me a little bit about the show,” she recalled while speaking with The Mary Sue. “I canceled everything for two weeks. I made a 60-page document full of references, story ideas, music.” Herron was determined to show that she was “the most passionate” of the bunch.

As fans may have realized, Herron’s pitch impressed Marvel, especially it also covered the Time Variance Authority, a little-known organization that the MCU had always been interested in. We loved the idea of it, but just didn’t know exactly what to do with it before [in the MCU],” Marvel boss Kevin Feige told Discussing Film. “It was really Kate’s meetings with us and her pitch that brought in all those references and allowed us to look at this as a slightly different genre than we were anticipating.”

She’s Always Known That Releasing The Multiverse Was Their Endgame

The end of Loki’s season one had major implications for the MCU. Aside from possibly revealing Phase Four’s major villain (Kang the Conqueror), it also saw the release of a multiverse. And as it turns out, Herron and Marvel had planned to do this all along.

“When I joined the project, we always knew that Loki and Sylvie were going to go to He Who Remains, and the multiverse would be released,” Herron explained during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So I already knew when I got the job that it was going to be a massive undertaking to do that and a big responsibility for Marvel to get it right.”

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Following Loki, the multiverse is expected to be explored more extensively in the upcoming film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It is also possible that the multiverse will play a major part in the second season of Loki. When that goes into production, however, Herron will no longer be around.

Here’s Why She Left Marvel?

As much as Herron enjoyed her time with Marvel, the director has confirmed that she is bowing out from Loki. This is simply because it was all she signed up to do. “So I always intended just to do these six. And it was such a massive compliment and a delight that as we got much later into production, Marvel and Disney were like, ‘Ah, man. This is excellent, and we want to keep going,’” Herron explained. “So I just feel like my part is done, but I’m really excited to see where it’s going to go next.”

While speaking with Collider, Feige also confirmed that Herron is “going on to bigger and better things.” At the moment, the director seat for Loki season 2 remains vacant but the Marvel boss revealed that “the director search will begin shortly.”

It is unclear yet where Loki season 2 will fall in the MCU’s schedule and timeline. Feige himself said that he’s currently “not sure exactly where it falls between next year and the year after.” Whenever that happens, Herron has said she will be tuning in. " I’m excited to see where it goes next as a fan.”

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