It turns out the God of Lies knew the truth about his fate early on.
As he prepares to return to the role of Loki for the upcoming Disney+ series, Tom Hiddleston shares how he learned of the character’s death in Avengers: Infinity War and how long he kept it quiet.
Loki’s end
As one of the first major villains of the MCU, Loki was always a prime player. Tom Hiddleston debuted the role in the first Thor film as Loki falls into darkness and tries to take over Asgard.
It continued with Loki the key villain of the first Avengers movie leading an invasion of Asgard and then reprising the role in the two Thor sequels.
At the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Loki tries one last trick to make Thanos think he’s joining him but actually trying to kill him. It fails, and Thanos chokes Loki to death before a horrified Thor’s eyes.
It was a shocking moment as disposing of such a huge character established Thanos as a larger threat. Talking to Empire Magazine, Hiddleston revealed that he knew of Loki’s final fate even before the filming of Thor: Ragnarok.
It was the very first scene the Russos, Joe and Anthony, had [come up with], “They told me about it in person when I went in to meet [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] and he was walking me through the loose sketch of the story for Thor: Ragnarok. This was May 2016. So I knew, before I started Ragnarok, the endgame… no pun intended,” he laughed. “Then it came time, three days in 2017 in the spring – I went out to Atlanta, and there was such a generous atmosphere from people on set. Some I’d known since the early days.”
Hiddleston added how Josh Brolin was almost embarrassed for having to “end” Loki.
“I remember meeting him, actually, when I landed, before we started filming,” Hiddleston said. “He just enveloped me in a big hug and said, ‘I’m sorry, man’. It was a big day, and a big moment.”
Loki’s return
Hiddleston’s knowledge is notable as the Russos were tight-lipped on Loki’s fate to the point the movie’s concept artists had scenes of Loki throughout the film.
It also means the actor went through all of Ragnarok knowing that Loki’s heroic turn wouldn’t last long.
Of course, this ended up not being the last fans would see of the God of Mischief.
In Avengers: Endgame, the Avengers travel back in time to the first movie’s events to get a hold of the Tesseract. During an ensuing confrontation, the Loki of the past is able to seize the Tesseract and escape.
The new series has Loki captured by the Time Variance Authority, a cosmic bureaucracy maintaining the timelines. He’s forced to become their agent but, of course, has his own agenda.
Hiddleston has hinted the series will focus on the literal and figurative “Shape-shifting” of Loki as the Trickster tries to find a new path for himself.
It makes an odd sense that Hiddleston was pulling a grand trick on audiences hiding Loki’s fate from fans all this time.
Loki premieres on Disney+ June 11.