Actor Tom Hiddleston said that the character coming out as bisexual in the Disney+ series Loki was a “small step” forward. He said there is still “further to go” in terms of sexual representation.

In the third episode of the series, Loki hinted at his bisexuality when he told Lady Loki that he had enjoyed romantic relationships with both princesses and princes in the past. The admission came after a quirky 18-second ad for the show featured a folder and dossier in which Loki’s sex was classified as “Fluid.”

Speaking with The Guardian, Hiddleston said that Loki’s bisexuality was meaningful to maintaining the character’s integrity.

“I was just really honored to be asked,” Hiddleston said. “We all wanted to retain the integrity of the character — I wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the bits that people loved, while doing something new. I also hope Loki coming out as bisexual was meaningful to people who spotted it. It was a small step, and there’s further to go. But it was definitely important to all of us.”

Speaking with Variety, actress Sophia Di Martino, who played Lady Loki, said that series director Kate Herron wanted the character’s bisexuality “represented in the show.”

“I think people have been waiting a long time for it. The comic books allude to it and even the Norse mythology, I think,” said Di Martino. “It’s been around for so long, and it was really important to her to have that in the show….I’ve got to say how happy it makes me that people are happy to see that.”

Likewise, Kate Herron said on Twitter at the time that the character’s bisexuality was always a matter of importance to her.

“From the moment I joined ‘Loki’ it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual. It is a part of who he is and who I am, too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon,” she tweeted.

In a later interview with Collider, Herron hoped that future installments of the character will better explore that aspect of his personality.

“I don’t know plans for the future with Loki — I’m so focused on this story,” Herron said. “But I would say that part of my thinking was, well, if it’s canon and it’s acknowledged, then yeah I hope there’s obviously more road to travel with that aspect of his personality. And I hope it has.”

However, Russell T. Davies, creator of the Showtime series Queer as Folk, criticized the moment as a “feeble gesture” by Disney.

“‘Loki’ makes one reference to being bisexual once, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh my god, it’s like a pansexual show.’ It’s like one word,” Davies said. “He said the word ‘prince,’ and we’re meant to go, ‘Thank you, Disney! Aren’t you marvelous?’ It’s pathetic. It’s a ridiculous, craven, feeble gesture towards the vital politics and the stories that should be told.”

LGBTQ representation in children’s shows has been on the uptick in recent years, beginning in 2014 on the Disney show Good Luck Charlie, which featured a lesbian mom couple. That was later followed by the Disney show Andi Mack featuring the first teenage gay couple on the network. 

Disney later made headlines with the release of Onward – the studio’s first animated movie to feature an openly LGBTQ character.

Going into its much-anticipated “Phase IV,” the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) increased LGBTQ representation in big ways with the first openly gay superhero Phastos in The Eternals, who shared in the MCU’s first openly-gay onscreen kiss between two men.