Rumours are flying about the internet that the final episode of 'Loki' will reveal Kang the Conquerer as the big baddie of the TVA.
MCU fans are a-buzz with speculation that 'Loki' will set up 'Ant-Man 3'. Luckily, with only one more episode to be released next Wednesday, we won't have to wait too much longer to find out who indeed is in that ivory tower/castle seen in the closing moments of episode five.
'Journey of Mystery' saw Tom Hiddleston's Loki encounter a number of different variants of himself in The Void - a lovely land where the trash gets dumped, and there's an ominous Alioth cloud on the hunt for sustenance to consume. There are a number of easter eggs that might have caught your eye - or maybe you missed.
A lot of the easter eggs are comic book references, some are also key points from previous Marvel movies, while others are pure geek indulgence (Kid Loki drinks from a juice box called Hi-C Ecto Cooler - a 90s 'Ghostbusters' product). For example, just like there's an Alligator Loki, there was also a blink and you'll miss it variant of Thor. While Loki is taken down into the safe house bunker, the camera pans downwards, showing Thor's Mjolnir with a Frog Thor underneath trying to get at it. Yep, there's a Frog Thor (or Throg) in the MCU.
One of the biggest easter eggs that fans spotted, however, was a giant Yellowjacket helmet, spotted by Vanity Fair's 'Still Watching: Loki' podcast host, Joanna Robinson. Seen in the middle of The Void, on its own, this piece of MCU lore showing up indicates that 'Loki' might be about to set up what goes down in 'Ant-Man 3'. Titled 'Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania', the movie is said to be reprising the baddie from the first 'Ant-Man', Yellowjacket, played by actor Corey Stoll.
As with everything in the MCU, we know never to believe that a character is well and truly dead - it leaves space for their return in future movies or TV shows, should the creators ever see a fit for the character. In 'Ant-Man' we witnessed the villain shrink until he disappeared completely - or maybe he's in the Quantum Realm? But then... is Loki's Void the Quantum Realm?
The director of the upcoming movie, Peyton Reed, suggested previously that Yellowjacket would be back for the sequel. Evangeline Lily, who plays The Wasp, also hinted at the character's return in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Could the villain of 'Ant-Man 3', Kang the Conquerer (rumoured to be played by Jonathan Majors), be working together with Yellowjacket? Kang is a time traveller, after all - the robot Time Keepers also bore a similar style and look to the character from the comics.
We'll have to wait until next Wednesday, July 14 to see if the season finale of 'Loki' will deliver the goods.
'Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania' is currently in production and will be released on February 17, 2023.
