There was more than a little excitement when fans heard that Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan would join the cast of Loki season two. After all, the beloved Indiana Jones and The Goonies actor recently wowed audiences in Everything Everywhere All at Once and fully recaptured all of our hearts. But, in truth, we still don’t know too much about what Loki season two will entail, and that involves details about Ke Huy Quan’s character. Aside from a few glimpses of the actor in Loki‘s trailers, Quan’s role in the series has remained mysterious. But now, we know a little bit more about the character and about how Quan came to be involved in the show. Ke Huy Quan’s Loki character officially has a name and a job at the TVA. Meet OB.
Meet Loki‘s O.B.
Entertainment Weekly revealed the news of Quan’s character. It notes that OB is a “quirky repair guy” in Loki season two. And that OB inhabits the “deepest bowels of the TVA.” He “works in the repairs and advancement department, and his office is stuffed in the basement, a sprawling mishmash of gadgets and gizmos.”
Co-executive producer Kevin Wright shared more about the Loki character, noting that Ke Huy Quan’s OB has his hands in many parts of the TVA. Wright said, “His job is basically every piece of tech, every computer, every thing that is running at the TVA… He either designed it, or he fixes it and keeps it running.” As Barbie‘s Ken might conclude, OB’s job is technology.
We know from trailers that Loki and Mobius will come to seek OB’s help with Loki’s seemingly uncontrollable time-slipping. But whether OB will play a big role in the MCU show or the MCU going forward remains unknown. It’s also unclear if OB has any roots in Marvel Comics or is simply an original MCU character. IGN revealed that O.B.’s full name is Ouroboros. The Ouroboros, of course, is a mythological creature that represents the infinite nature of time. And the name is referenced a few times in Marvel’s history—but its direct analog is not yet clear. But given that Loki plays with mythology, time, and Marvel lore, there’s likely more to Ke Huy Quan’s Loki character than appears.
Ke Huy Quan Wanted to Nod to The Goonies in Loki
Loki‘s costume designer Christine Wada recently shared a little bit about dressing O.B. According to ComicBook, she shared that Ke Huy Quan wanted to give a nod to his The Goonies character Data in his Loki look. Wada shared, “It was really fun because he talked about, well, the first fittings, or maybe it was a phone call, he talked about patches because Data had patches and he was like, ‘What about patches? It’d be so fun.’ And it was really, but then it quickly just became OB. Now just he brings so much, I mean, you could put him in a paper bag and he would bring life to it.”
We love hearing about this Easter egg.
How Ke Huy Quan Became a Part of the MCU’s Loki
One thing is for sure, the MCU likely wouldn’t have cast Ke Huy Quan so specifically if the Loki role didn’t merit it. Wright shares, “I think Kevin Feige made a call maybe April 12, just to follow up and say, ‘Please, please do this.'” In an interview with Variety, Write expands on the story offering, “We pitched him the show and this character. We shared that introduction scene with him and maybe the full script. And then we called in the big guns that Monday; Kevin Feige got on the phone with him and said, “Ke, I know you read the script. I know you talked to the guys. We really think you should do this. I really want you to join the Marvel family.”
Everything Everywhere All at Once, of course, premiered in theaters on April 8. Entertainment Weekly notes that Marvel casting director Sarah Halley Finn initially suggested Quan for Loki based on an early screening she saw of the movie. Write shares that she told the Marvel team, “I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he’s going to have a lot of offers for different things.” But it was an excellent offer for all because, as Wright concludes to Entertainment Weekly, “Ke is apparently already a giant Marvel fan and was a big fan of Loki season 1.” We love a happy ending.
We can’t wait to see more of Ke Huy Quan as OB when Loki season two releases on October 6. The series will stream on Disney+.
Originally published on September 11, 2023.