Loki Easter egg in episode 5 hints at worrying return of MCU villain

It’s corroborated by a deleted Instagram post from Evangeline Lilly

The latest episode of Loki might have revealed a character return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Episode five of the Disney Plus TV show set the wheels in motion for what will no doubt be a huge finale that looks set to introduce the next big villain.

It followed Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in The Void, a place where all pruned variants converge. While here, he teams up with various other versions of himself, including Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), to take down Alioth, a trans-temporal being guarding what appears to be the home of Kang the Conqueror.

This world is filled with not only several pruned characters, but objects from different timelines that created their own Nexus events. These include a dinky yellow helicopter flown by Thanos, an Avengers-style tower belonging to Kang and the helmet of Yellowjacket, as well as Corey Stoll’s character in Ant-Man, in giant form.

*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*

This is where it gets interesting. While Kang is expected to make his MCU debut in the Loki finale, he has been confirmed to appear in the next Ant-Man and the Wasp film, which is titled Quantumania.

Stoll’s character seemingly died in Ant-Man, and was nowhere to be seen in the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, but his helmet showing up in Loki right before the arrival of Quantumania’s primary antagonist certainly hints towards a return.

Ant-Man villain Yellowjacket’s helmet appears in ‘Loki’ episode 5 (Disney+)

Backing this up is an Instagram post shared by Evangeline Lilly, who plays the Wasp. While sharing a photo of her script, she included the names of the cast in her caption – and name-checked Stoll.

She later deleted the post and re-shared it without Stoll’s name.

Will Corey Stoll return as Yellowjacket in ‘Ant-Man: Quantumania’ (Marvel Studios)

Here’s hoping more will become clear in the Loki finale, which will arrive on Disney Plus on Wednesday (14 July).

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released on April 2023.