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Credit: Marvel StudiosLast year saw Tom Hiddleston gain an even more potent following when Michael Waldron’s Loki debuted on Disney+. The third series from Marvel Studios featured Hiddleston’s God of Mischief entering the complicated world of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), facing off against the dangers of the Multiverse, and helping to keep the fragile Sacred Timeline intact via time travel.
It all went wrong, obviously, and with multiple new Loki Variants making their debut in Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, it stands to reason that the superhero studio has options to carry on Loki’s legacy long after Hiddleston has hung up his horns and cape. That, and the actor just made some rather revelatory comments on how he feels about playing the Trickster god.
Having starred in multiple Marvel movies, Hiddleston is one of the long-standing actors in the MCU. Introduced in Kenneth Branaugh’s Thor (2011) alongside Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), the British actor appeared in The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and the Russo Brothers‘ Infinity Saga conclusion, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Unfortunately for Marvel fans, Loki was killed by Thanos (Josh Brolin) at the start of Infinity War, that is until a 2012 Loki variant of the character was resurrected due to the Avenger’s “Time Heist” in Endgame.
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This brings us to Waldron’s Loki. Helmed by Kate Herron, the action-mystery series established a lot of firsts for the MCU. There was the notion of Variants, and the Variants being dictated by the TVA; the confirmation of the wider Multiverse, the mystery of the Time-Keepers, and the importance of the Sacred Timeline; and, eventually, the arrival of the MCU’s next big bad, He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), or, as it was foretold, Kang the Conqueror.
When Loki returned from his audience with He Who Remains without his Variant accomplice, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) — a version of Lady Loki — in the finale of Loki Season 1, he seemingly entered an altogether different timeline where his TVA companion, Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) did not know who he was in this Marvel universe. These events seemingly set up the second season of the Multiversal series, and with Variants abound — Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant ), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), and Alligator Loki, for example –, Loki could further bring more versions of Thor Odinson’s brother into the fold. And could one eventually replace Hiddleston? Could Hiddleston eventually pass the torch to someone new?
In a recent panel hosted by the Royal Television Society in London, Hiddleston discussed his role as Loki and his decade-long tenure with the character. He said (via Variety):
“I’m a temporary torchbearer […] I’ve always thought that. It’s a great role. It’s an archetype, the trickster god, the agent of chaos. I’m just here interpreting that for the time being. Loki has been here for centuries and will be here for centuries more and I’m just stepping into that silhouette for now.”
The Loki star went on to discuss how this version of the character’s story felt different to others:
“This idea of somehow the [Time Variance Authority] confronting Loki with the shape-shifting nature of his identity and asking him ‘Who are you?’ I found it a new avenue to explore with this character I’ve been playing for a while,” Hiddleston said. “It felt original. It didn’t feel like we were repeating.”
While Hiddleston is still tied to the character for now, at least with the development of the second season, the actor is not yet slated for any other movie appearances including Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). It is possible that with Hiddleston commenting on his role as the “temporary torchbearer”, his long-standing partnership with the MCU may be slowly coming to a close. Ten years is a long time to work in one franchise and with movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) proving that more is merrier, the legacy of these characters can easily be continued with new actors.
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Loki garnered immense success and posted huge viewership for Disney+, breaking enough records that the Walt Disney Company decided to shift its Original streaming programs from Friday to Wednesday. Its success also meant that a second season of the Marvel Comics-based series was quickly announced by Marvel Studios, although Waldron and Herron would not be returning as head writer and director, respectively.
Instead, Eric Martin will lead the writing for Loki Season 2, and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will direct the majority of the six-episode sequel series that is slated for filming this summer. Benson and Moorhead more recently directed episodes for the next Marvel Original Series, Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac.
Would you like to see a new actor take on the role of Loki in the MCU? Let us know in the comments down below!
You can now stream the complete season of Loki on Disney+. The series stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Owen Wilson (Mobius M. Mobius), Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ravonna Renslayer), Wunmi Musaku (Hunter B-15), and Tara Strong (Miss Minutes).