The second season of Loki will see the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) slip through time in a major way. His latest adventure will also bring him face to face again with the Big Bad of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). This time, though, he takes the form of Victor Timely, a 20th-century inventor who spent decades developing a sophisticated tech brand. Loki and TVA Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) will trek back to 1901 to investigate Timely’s enterprise, but a new Easter Egg may have just hinted at another very weird villain in the mix.
So far, Loki Season 2 seems to be splitting its focus between several periods. Apart from the 1900s, Loki and Mobius will also visit the 1970s, which will introduce a character played by Blindspotting’s Rafael Casal. We don’t know much about him yet, but based on Loki’s latest trailer, he could be a major threat to time and space.
In the Loki Season 2 trailer, Casal’s character attends a movie premiere in London. The film is called The Zaniac! and stars the fictional actor Brad Wolfe. It’s safe to assume Casal will be playing Wolfe, but why is he a target of the TVA?
The Zaniac may not be a household name, but he’s got an interesting history in Marvel comics. Introduced as a minor villain in The Mighty Thor #319, he’s originally just a movie character portrayed by Wolfe, but a freak accident turns Wolfe into the Zaniac.
The Zaniac’s origins are later retconned in The Mighty Thor #371. In a two-issue story by Walter Simonson and artist Sal Buscema, Wolfe is reintroduced as a vessel for a swarm of demonic parasites. These parasites hail from the Dark Dimension, and whoever they possess becomes the Zaniac.
In the comics, the Zaniac has roamed the Earth in different forms for years. Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #23 later confirms that Dormammu, the Lord of the Dark Dimension, has been using him as a puppet to wreak havoc. He thus becomes a target of the TVA, which could explain his presence in Loki Season 2.
Casal is set to play a significant role in Loki’s second season, which means the Zaniac reference in the new trailer is much more than an Easter egg. Loki and Mobius take a vested interest in Casal’s character, cornering him after his big premiere and roughing him up with magic. It’s clear he’s got something the TVA wants; he may not be aware of it, but he could pose a massive threat to the multiverse. Whether it’s a connection to Dormammu or an appearance from Kang the Conqueror, Loki’s world could be getting a whole lot bigger — and weirder — this season.
