When creating the Disney + Series Loki’s style, the filmmakers took inspiration from a variety of dark film sources.
“We were really inspired by a lot of film noir films,” according to director Kate Herron. “You can see that in our lighting and how we approached it.” The crime thriller Se7en also provided a heavy influence. Herron says to keep an eye out for a Se7en-inspired Easter egg in the second episode.
“I think Fincher for sure,” agrees head writer Michael Waldron. “Zodiac and Silence of the Lambs were two specific ones that we were really looking at a lot in the writers’ room.”
“The real answer is the inspiration was Kate,” says producer Kevin Feige. Marvel knew they wanted a Tom Hiddleston Loki series and were fans of the Time Variance Authority organization from the comics. “Kate’s meetings with us and her pitch that brought in all those references and allowed us to look at this as a slightly different genre than we were anticipating. So that’s my answer, our inspiration was Kate and her pitch for this job.”
Loki is streaming now on Disney+.