One Of Loki Season 1's Most Important Locations Wasn't In The Original Script

Time truly is nothing more than a construct, as those who watched season 1 of "Loki" found out for themselves in dramatic fashion. Marvel's universe-hopping adventure, an instant hit upon release back in the summer of 2021, is now looking ahead to its highly-anticipated second season ... but, in a fitting twist for a series about the god of mischief, we haven't fully moved on from the previous batch of episodes just yet. Timed for today's release of the season 1 box set of "Loki," a notable rarity in this streaming-dominated era, Marvel has released a brand-new featurette to further hype up all the behind-the-scenes details that are still left to be uncovered.

According to this "Designing the Monitoring Wing" video, which is set to be included in the Blu-ray collection, one incredibly important and recurring location featured through season 1 was never actually established in any of the scripts. Created by writer Michael Waldron, "Loki" perhaps borrowed a little bit of its title character's unique sense of improvisation in fully building out the season. As revealed by production designer Kasra Farahani, who takes viewers on a tour of one of the most recognizable sets of the entire production:

"So this is the Chronomonitoring Wing. It's sort of like a mission control area where they monitor the one true timeline. This set was actually something that wasn't strictly scripted to start. There was a lot of different scenes that took place in a lot of different sort of technical environments that seemed like they could be merged together into one central hub of that activity which would be cool to have the depth of all the busy, bustling activity in one space."

As complex and uncontrollable as the various branching timelines became by the end of the debut season of "Loki" — thanks in large part, of course, to both Tom Hiddleston's antihero and Sophia Di Martino's variant Sylvie causing some mischief by doing away with He Who Remains, the precursor to the Kang infestation that's about to wreak havoc on the Marvel Cinematic Universe — that's nothing compared to the task shouldered by the Time Variance Authority. This mysterious and ethereal organization exists out of time and space, with Owen Wilson's Agent Mobius giving us a familiar face to help orient ourselves, and the actual set and production design had to reflect this. If nothing else, this featurette (which is included below) ought to encourage a healthy sense of respect for the hardworking crew on each and every Marvel project.

In addition to the reveal that the Chronomonitoring Wing, essentially the central nervous system of the entire TVA and the memorable location of so many important scenes throughout the series, only really came together after the scripts were developed, the featurette also dives into Kasra Farahani's inspired work, as commended by star Tom Hiddleston, in blending the past and future together to create the TVA's truly unique aesthetics. The show was perhaps a bit hit or miss for me personally, with some of issues likely exacerbated by the pandemic and Marvel's subsequent release date rejiggering, but there's no denying the fact that the show felt wonderfully and refreshingly distinct on the visual side of things.

Fans can purchase the "Loki" season 1 4K UHD and Blu-ray set today from your preferred retailer, while season 2 of "Loki" will premiere on Disney+ on October 5, 2023 at 9pm ET/6pm PT.