Infinity War featured an endless stream of deaths of much-loved characters and the one that first told us the movie would be absolutely merciless was Loki’s demise, when Thanos killed him after acquiring the Space Stone. Tom Hiddleston’s trickster has been by far the most beloved villain – or anti-hero, later on – in the MCU to date, so fans were distraught to see him go. But could he return in Avengers 4?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely, as Hiddleston appeared at ACE Comic-Con this weekend and confirmed that the God of Mischief is indeed dead and the character’s story has come to a close. Revealing that he actually learned of Loki’s fate two years ago, here’s what the actor had to share:
“So, I’ve known about that scene for two years. I met with Marvel in May 2016, and they were actually telling me the story of Ragnarok with concept art and images. The Russos came in, and I introduced myself. So, all four of us sat down, and they said this is how Infinity War begins.”
“My whole journey through making Thor: Ragnarok — I knew this was coming. By the end of [that film], Loki has been accepted as Thor’s brother again.”
Continuing on, Hiddleston explained that the God of Mischief’s death was important to the film as it showed you that the Mad Titan wasn’t messing around, like we mentioned above.
“When I came to shoot the scene in Infinity War, I think it’s very powerful he calls himself an Odinson, and that closes the whole journey of Loki and what he can do. It [Loki’s death] set the stakes up emotionally. It takes the stakes up dramatically. You know that Thanos is someone who’s more dangerous than anyone we’ve seen before.”
Of course, this being the Marvel Cinematic Universe, characters can always come back and given that Avengers 4 will involve time travel, there’s already a way for Loki to return. While it’s unlikely to happen, we know that the remaining heroes will likely utilize the power of the Quantum Realm to journey back through their recent history in order to collect the Infinity Stones before Thanos does, thereby rewriting the timeline and ensuring that he never uses the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half the universe.
By this same logic, Loki’s death could be undone. Think about it. The God of Mischief dies because the Mad Titan attacks the Asgardian refugee ship, known as the Statesman, in order to get the Space Stone. But if Iron Man and co. take the Space Stone from the past – set photos point to them stealing it from the events of The Avengers – then this’ll never happen. Therefore, Loki and, presumably the many Asgardians that Thanos murdered, will be restored to life in the revised timeline.
Again, this is unlikely to happen as not only would it cheapen the character’s death in Avengers: Infinity War, but it also just doesn’t seem like Tom Hiddleston is that interested in returning. Judging by his comments here, the actor seems content with how Loki’s arc was brought to an end and given how long he’s been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s highly likely he’s happy to now move on and have more time for other projects. That’s probably not what fans want to hear, but in all fairness, the God of Mischief’s story has been brought full circle and bringing him back would only be doing the character a disservice.
