The upcoming season of Loki grabbed headlines last week when it was revealed that Marvel and McDonald’s would be partnering on a new Loki sweet ‘n sour sauce.
Ahead of the news, McDonald’s released an “As Featured In” video showcasing various mentions or appearances of the franchise in various TV and movies.
Photo: Marvel
Fans were initially surprised to see that Loki was among the shows included in the montage. Subsequently, McDonald’s released a Loki-specific ad, showing the God of Mischief, Mobius, and an unidentified prisoner finding Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie working at a 1980s McDonald’s.
Part of the Narrative
According to executive producer Kevin Wright, however, Sylvie working at a McDonald’s was a plot point created for narrative reasons. It was not simply product placement.
Credit: McDonald’s
When talking to Fast Company, Wright recalled that on the last day of shooting Loki Season 1, the show’s team discussed where Sylvie could go next.
The Loki variant had just killed He Who Remains in the Season 1 finale and unleashed the multiverse. Perhaps more importantly to Sylvie, however, was that her “decades-long, maybe centuries-long revenge mission” that had her on the run from the TVA was now over.
Photo: Marvel
Di Martino suggested that her character would “probably be pretty hungry”.
Getting A Respite
As Wright and the Loki team developed Season 2, writers were having trouble coming up with a storyline for Sylvie. Then, they remembered what Di Martino had said.
Photo: McDonald’s
“When we stayed in the view of character. This woman who went on the run as a child, had been running through time. A fugitive of time, living in apocalypses, never being able to relax or slow down. The novelty of walking into a 1980s McDonald’s looked appealing. You play a Little League game and go to McDonald’s. You go to a kid’s birthday party at McDonald’s. Someone like Sylvie would never have experienced that, and would be really taken by that.” Wright explained.
Photo: Marvel
A Unique Product Placement Deal
Unlike traditional product placement deals, where an arrangement is reached after the script has been written, the Loki-McDonald’s partnership was in the script from the start.
Wright was initially worried that the fast food chain would think that the show was trying “To do something ironic or make fun of them”, even though the writers intended the McDonald’s scenes to sell “an earnest story, a love letter to nostalgia through a character’s eyes who will see all of the novelty and joy of it.”
Photo: McDonald’s
Fortunately, McDonald’s and Marvel had a partnership in place, and McDonald’s was thrilled to embrace Sylvie as a former employee.
Fans will have to wait until Loki Season 2 premieres to see how long Sylvie’s McDonald’s career lasts. I have a feeling, however, she will quickly be joining Loki and Mobius in their battle with the next Kang variant.
Photo: Also Marvel
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