The first season of Loki was a surprisingly important entry in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Not only did the first season of the Disney+ series explore concepts like the multiverse and variants in a way that no MCU title before had, but it also concluded with the official introduction of the franchise’s new primary antagonist: Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). For those reasons, the anticipation surrounding Loki Season 2 has been high ever since it was announced.
The second season of the Disney+ series is currently in production, and if one new leak is to be believed, then Loki’s sophomore season may end up playing an even more important role in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga than its first.
The Leak — In a recent series of tweets, an MCU leaker known as @cinestealth claimed that Marvel is considering casting none other than Superman actor Henry Cavill as Marcus Milton/Hyperion in Loki Season 2. The leaker went on to add that they’ve heard Hyperion’s alleged debut in Loki Season 2 will coincide with the show’s introduction of the Squadron Supreme. Apparently, Marvel intends to make the Squadron Supreme a kind of Boys-inspired, evil version of the Justice League that hails from another timeline.
In case all that wasn’t surprising enough, the Marvel leaker additionally claimed that the Squadron Supreme will end up working as Kang the Conqueror’s enforcers/muscle in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. That would mean that not only is Marvel considering casting Henry Cavill as a character who was explicitly created as a response to Superman, but also, he would be an evil version of him.
As always, make sure to take this leak with a massive grain of salt. Frankly, the notion that Marvel would not only cast Henry Cavill as Hyperion but also relegate his MCU debut to a Disney+ series like Loki seems undeniably far-fetched. In fact, @cinestealth noted in one of their tweets that they don’t think Cavill and Marvel have reached an official agreement yet, which means there’s still a chance that none of this ends up coming to fruition.
Henry Cavill in the MCU — In the comics, Marcus Milton is the sole survivor of a race of Eternals who is sent to Earth as a baby and raised by his human father. After growing up and becoming a superhero known as Hyperion, Milton begins to work with a team of other superheroes known as the Squadron Supreme. However, everything goes wrong when his universe begins to collide with another, which results in the destruction of his reality.
In the aftermath of that moment, Hyperion is left floating in the void where his universe used to be until a group of A.I.M. scientists find him and transfer him to their reality. After being imprisoned by the scientists for a period of time, Hyperion is eventually freed by the Avengers, who extend an invitation for him to join their team. Since then, Hyperion has worked with the Avengers, the Children of the Sun, and Sunspot’s Avengers. All of which is to say that Hyperion is certainly a character Henry Cavill could conceivably play in the MCU.
It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first time rumors have swirled about Cavill and Marvel Studios working together. That doesn’t, however, mean that Cavill will actually appear as Hyperion in Loki Season 2, or that the Squadron Supreme will actually be introduced in the Disney+ series’ sophomore season. Right now, the chances of either of those things happening in Loki Season 2 seem slim.
One could have said the same thing about Kang the Conqueror appearing in Loki Season 1, though, and we all know how that ultimately turned out.
The Inverse Analysis — It’s certainly not impossible that Loki Season 2 will introduce the Squadron Supreme, nor is it impossible that Henry Cavill will appear as Hyperion in the series. In fact, Hyperion actually ends up joining a new version of the Squadron Supreme in the comics, one that is comprised of superheroes from universes that were all destroyed by the same kind of incursions that were introduced earlier this year in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Taking that into account, it’d make sense for the Squadron Supreme to be introduced at some point in Marvel’s Multiverse Saga. Whether or not that ends up happening in Loki Season 2 remains to be seen, but the Disney+ series’ first season made it clear that nothing is truly off the table. For what it’s worth, bringing in Henry Cavill as Hyperion would also give Loki Season 2 a strong chance at topping Jonathan Majors’ cameo in its Season 1 finale.
Loki Season 2 is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2023.
