OMG, 'Loki' Is Coming To Disney+ Sooner Than Expected
Since Disney+ arrived in November 2019, it has mainly stuck with Friday release dates for its movies and series. There have been a few exceptions, like the streaming service's official launch day and debuts on holidays, like Christmas or "May the Fourth." But from The Mandalorian to WandaVision, Hamilton to Raya and the Last Dragon, everything has arrived on Fridays. With such calming and orderly rollouts, fans knew the Chaos God, Loki, would have to be different. So, when does Loki premiere on Disney+?
Like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki's planned release has been upended several times since Marvel announced it in 2019. Though it was always scheduled to debut in the spring of 2021, it first was expected to directly follow Falcon in May before getting pushed back a month to June.
Like its predecessors, Loki was initially announced as arriving on Fridays at 3 a.m. ET, with the premiere scheduled for June 11, 2021. But with a brand-new announcement that the show is moving to mid-week premieres, Loki has upended all future Friday release expectations.
The good news is that fans have two fewer days to wait for the show's arrival; it'll now premiere on June 9. The bad news is that hardcore fans based on the East Coast will have to wake up at 3 a.m. on Wednesdays (instead of Fridays) if they want to watch it without fear of spoilers.
What's not clear is whether this is a permanent move for all Marvel series from now on or just one for Loki. Despite the fans who will doubtlessly complain about mid-week early morning wake-ups, there are good reasons to move to a Wednesday berth.
For instance, right now, all Disney+ shows debut on Fridays. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' second season drops only a few weeks before Loki. It would help both East High and the Time Variance Authority not have to go head to head on the same day. Also, Black Widow will arrive partway through Loki's run, debuting on a Friday in both theaters and Disney+, creating even more competition.
And then there's the matter of the show's anticipated audience. As CNN reported, that is a significant reason Disney+ sticks to the 3 a.m. ET debut time: It cuts way down on Disney+ users all logging in at once since it's 2 a.m. Central Time and 1 a.m. Mountain Time. Loki's fanbase is enormous within the Marvel fandom. By having the show debut on Wednesday, if there is a surge of fans staying up late (or getting up early) to tune in, at least it will only be Loki viewers, not fans trying to watch other things simultaneously.
Whatever the reason, fans should remark their calendars for Wednesday, June 9, 2021, for the Loki Season 1 premiere on Disney+.
