Loki: Jonathan Majors on Playing He Who Remains and the Time Keepers

The epic season finale for Marvel Studios' Loki aired earlier this week — and it's safe to say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is forever changed.

On their journey to discover who was behind the creation of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and the Time Keepers, Loki and Sylvie found He Who Remains at the Citadel at the End of Time. And Marvel fans who tuned in got a special treat: Jonathan Majors, who's set to appear in Marvel Studios' Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania as Kang the Conqueror, making his MCU debut as He Who Remains, a variant of Kang. With the Multiverse in the balance, Majors took some time this week to talk about his surprising debut as well as collaborating with the team behind the hit series with Entertainment Weekly.

"It was one of those moments in one's life, depending on one's occupation, where you go, 'Ah, this is it. This is it,'" shared Majors to EW on his MCU role. 

As for how he approached the opportunity, the actor revealed, "'Be brave, walk through the door, and leave it on the field.' That was my mentality.'"

However, Majors' casting as He Who Remains and inclusion in the series wasn't the only secret the series was able to keep. In the same interview with EW, director Kate Herron said Majors also voiced the Time Keepers in an earlier episode, as a way to plant the seed of his grand reveal. After they had locked Majors in for the series, they still hadn't casted the voice of the robotic puppets of He Who Remains. Herron shared, "I was like, 'Oh, let's get Jonathan to do it, because he's an amazing character actor.' We sent him the art of all the characters and it was really fun [because] he was sending us all of these different voices he could do for each character, which was great."

Previously, series titular star Tom Hiddleston shared with Marvel.com, "I just want to salute Jonathan Majors. He came in the last lap of this series and made an extraordinary impact. And it’s quite something to do that for a story, to get to its final chapter and to introduce the character of such breadth, and depth, and charisma, and intelligence. He was dazzling. It was our final week of filming, literally. He came in and blew us all away.”

A sentiment that Herron echoed to EW. "The fact that we got him to do this, I was just so happy because I was like, 'We're gonna be in really safe hands now.' He just commands attention. That for me was the real key thing for me, just getting the casting right," shared the director. Herron had also revealed she was part of the conversation in casting Majors with Marvel Studios and Peyton Reed, the director for the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

He Who Remains, the master architect for all of time, had spent a long time in isolation toiling away at keeping the Sacred Timeline stable. In capturing his eccentricity, Majors was able to tap into his clown training from Yale School of Drama. "There's more smiling in that one performance than there has been in my other performances combined. It's just what it calls for," Majors shared with EW. "I'm a classically trained clown. That's part of my training. I've been at it for a long time, and to be able to exercise that was a lot of fun."

In addition to tapping into his classic clown training, the creative team allowed Majors a lot space to improv his role as He Who Remains. Herron shared with the entertainment outlet that Majors "brought movement to the character in different ways," noting "it was almost like a dance with him."

Majors credits a lot of his performance to collaborating with Herron, Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, and producer Kevin Wright. "They really let me run," said Majors, "And that's the best thing you can hope for."

What's next for the Multiverse and Majors? That remains to be seen. For now, read the full interview with Herron and Majors over at EW.

All six episodes from the first season of Marvel Studios' Loki are now streaming exclusively on Disney+! Loki will return for Season 2.

In need of more post-finale coverage of Loki, we got you covered!

• Loki: Episode 6 Event Report
• ‘Loki’ Will Return for Season 2 on Disney+
• Tom Hiddleston Reflects on How Loki’s Been “Changed By The Journey”
• Loki: Deconstructing He Who Remains’ Life’s Work at the Citadel at the End of Time
• Loki’: Meet the Man Behind the Curtain, He Who Remains
• Loki’: The Truth About Judge Renslayer and Miss Minutes
• ‘Loki’: Sophia Di Martino on Completing Sylvie’s Mission
• ‘Loki’: How the Cliffhanger Ending Sets the Stage for What’s Next

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This is just the beginning of the Phase 4 news. Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more details and sign up for Disney+ and start streaming now! And be sure to follow Disney+ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more.