Loki had a lot of fun surprises throughout the season. We got to see Easter eggs and thoughtful cameos, but as it turns out, we were originally slated to see more. You know the scene where Loki first shows up at the TVA and gets in the long queue with no one else in it? It was originally set to be filled with a mix of new and familiar MCU characters that had been thoughtfully placed throughout.
But that didn’t pan out, and instead we got the humorous scene in which Loki is asked to take a number, and he complies incredulously, then realizes the importance of the number when the guy ahead of him has misplaced his number and is taken out.
Loki director Kate Herron talks about the reason behind the change in a recent interview with The Direct (via CB), saying:
“That scene, it wasn’t Rocket specifically. I think the illustrators drew him in as a fun idea because sometimes they’ll pitch stuff and then the studio will be like, ‘Yay or nay.’ I think it never got to the point, unfortunately, because of COVID.
“Originally that scene when Loki’s in, we call it the DMV cue, where he watches the Miss Minutes video. Originally, that was going to be full of characters and people. We didn’t know necessarily who those characters were going to be. We were circling on, ‘Maybe it could be fun if a character could be a reference to this film or maybe something from the comics.’ It’s just that when that was scheduled, COVID hit, and then obviously when we were across that four-month gap, and we were looking at it again, we just couldn’t do it safely. Like at least at that time, because it was so early in our schedule.
“But for the inside one with the cue, it just felt like it was sort of putting people at risk in a way that for the story, we were like it’s actually kind of funnier and more ridiculous if he goes in this intricate cue system, and actually there’s no one there. That’s kind of how that one came to pass. I mean, definitely, there’s always Easter Eggs and things that people are pitching and like, you know, for one reason or another I think it’s just usually about choice, right? You just pick the one that everyone’s most excited by and that’s what gets in the show.”
It would have been fun to see the line full of characters and pause the scene to take it all in, but it’s understandable that changes had to be made. Check out the concept art of Rocket in the queue above, and let us know who else you would have liked to have seen in that scene.