Deadline reports writer, producer, and actor Rafael Casal has joined the cast of Disney+’s Loki. Rumors of Casal’s casting bubbled online after a leaked season two production photo captured him on set.
According to Deadline, the alleged photo depicts Casal walking alongside Loki stars Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent, Avengers: Infinity War) and Owen Wilson (Secret Headquarters, Marry Me). Hiddleston and Wilson portray the title character and his Time Variance Authority ally, Mobius, respectively. Little is known about Casal’s character, but many online sleuths are theorizing he is playing a character named Zaniac. Zaniac is described as a being of Earth-616 who exists by possessing a living host.
The first Disney+ Marvel series to receive a second season, Loki stars Hiddleston reprising his Marvel Cinematic Universe role as the adopted Asgardian sibling. The first season followed 2012’s Loki after obtaining the Tesseract during the battle of New York in Marvel’s Avengers. This one decision reverberated across space and time alerting the TVA to arrest Loki for crimes against the time continuum. This takes him on an adventure that brings a larger threat to his universe and others.
According to Deadline, season two will be co-directed by Justin Benson (Resolution, Spring) and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Synchronic) with Hiddleston and season one showrunner, Micahel Waldron (Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Heels) serving as executive producers. All six episodes will be written by Eric Martin (Rick and Morty, Heels).
Casal is known for appearing in the 2018 film, Blindspotting, which he co-wrote and produced with friend and actor Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer, blackish). He recently reprised the role in the Starz TV sequel series starring Jasmine Cephas Jones (Hamilton, Mrs. Fletcher). His other credits include Showtime’s limited series The Good Lord Bird, HBO’s Bad Education, and the 2019 reboot of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark.
Season two of Loki, currently in production, does not yet have a release date.