You’ve gotta feel for Loki season 2. Despite being the follow-up to Marvel’s most popular Disney Plus series ever, and enjoying a lucrative McDonalds tie-in deal, it still had its work cut out for it by releasing amid the Jonathan Majors controversy and the general Multiverse Saga drama.
So it’s sadly an inevitability that we’re receiving some disappointing updates on its performance, even as the show is reaching creative heights perhaps not seen in the MCU since Avengers: Endgame. Let’s explain…
Loki season 2 reaches Endgame-level stakes, even if its viewership has been Thanos-ed
Loki wasn’t the only one suffering from déjà vu during season 2’s penultimate episode as the whole thing was more than a little reminiscent of the two-part end of the Infinity Saga. It’s ironic, then, that just as this episode drops we discover Loki season 2’s viewing figures have plummeted by almost as much as if Thanos had used the Infinity Gauntlet to chop them in half. The sophomore run’s premiere pulled in 40% fewer eyeballs than its super-successful first season, which is a clear sign that Marvel needs to rethink how it’s handling its Disney Plus shows.
Echo first-look trailer confirms it’s Marvel’s first mature-rated Disney Plus show
Speaking of which, enter Echo. Today also saw the long-awaited release of a first-look trailer for Echo, which we now know is coming on Jan. 10. With its teaser comprising almost entirely of gnarly action, we can likewise confirm it’ll be Marvel’s first TV-MA rated streaming series, with producer Brad Winterbaum promising it’s “kind of a new direction” for the franchise on TV. It’s about time that Echo, a show that’s been treated pretty shamefully by Marvel to date, earned itself some excitement.
The resurrection of the Defenders Saga is complete as Echo EP admits its biggest influence
And you know one way to get folks excited for Echo? Promise them it will hark back to the halcyon days of Daredevil. On top of Kingpin heavily featuring in the trailer, the promo likewise slips in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Charlie Cox’s hornhead. What’s more, EP Sydney Freeland — who won’t stand for any criticism of the studio, by the way — has admitted her biggest inspiration for this series was the beloved Netflix show set in Hell’s Kitchen, revealing that its influence “dictates the tone.” What with the rebooted Daredevil: Born Again turning to the Defenders Saga to find its new showrunners, clearly Marvel is realizing that Netflix knew what it was doing.
Even if a prospective Blade director was scared off by the “smell” of Marvel Studios, don’t forget to sniff back here soon for more fragrant fresh developments from the MCU.