Loki star Gugu Mbatha-Raw apparently debunks theories about Renslayer and Kang the Conqueror
Renslayer and Kang's history might not be important after all
Loki star Gugu Mbatha-Raw has seemingly debunked theories around her character Ravonna Lexus Renslayer and the villainous Kang the Conqueror.
"I took a look at it," Mbatha-Raw told Polygon, referring to the comic book history between her character and Kang, "but I also knew it wasn't the most useful information for the story we were telling in Loki. That was how [director] Kate Herron and our producer Kevin Wright steered me. They told me not to go too deep into that stuff, because it isn't really the part of time we're dealing with."
In Marvel comics, Renslayer and Kang have a complicated past. The most important thing to know is that the two have a turbulent romance, and both are capable of time travel. Kang might have already been teased in a minor Easter egg hidden in Loki's first episode, and is set to make his MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, portrayed by Jonathan Majors.
Majors has already denied a Loki appearance, saying very simply: "No idea what you're talking about."
But all hope for Renslayer and Kang to meet eventually is not lost. "Who knows, maybe we get together in the future or the past or whatever," Mbatha-Raw added. "What is time, anyway, in the TVA?"
The actor also talked more about the freedom allowed by not following the comics exactly. "Loki is more of an origin story for Renslayer," she commented. "So this predates what people know and love about her from the comics. That gives us a bit of room to do something unexpected."
Loki episode 4 seemed to reveal Renslayer as a villain, probably the series' big bad, after the revelation that the Time Keepers were nothing but androids. The episode ended with a huge reveal, and it looks like Loki will have some unusual allies in the last two installments of the series. We don't have long to find out what happens next, either – the series is dropping its remaining two episodes weekly, and you can check out our Loki release schedule to find out exactly when the fifth episode releases.
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I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.