Tom Hiddleston clarified what to expect from his longtime MCU icon, Loki, as he returns to action in Avengers: Doomsday. Hiddleston will play a major role in an MCU movie for the first time in years upon his return in Doomsday, which boasts one of the biggest casts of stars in any comic-book movie in history. Having been part of the last 15 years of MCU adventures, the former God of Mischief could be in for his most impactful chapter yet.
Loki star Tom Hiddleston addressed a potentially major twist for his character in Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday. Speaking with Nerd Reactor, the conversation turned to a theory that Loki will take on the role that Molecule Man first embraced in the original Marvel Comics story before looking at how it feels different to rejoin the Avengers as a good guy rather than a villain.
Having gone into Doomsday directly after Loki Season 2, he feels his character is "afforded redemption and catharsis" at the end of a long arc that started in 2011's Thor. Seeing a character who is looking for his identity and a sense of belonging, he turns the grief he feels into grievance and, eventually, makes that "the engine of his status as an antagonist" in 2012's The Avengers:
"Well, I have to be very careful where I tread here... But what was different for me, and this is, I think, okay to say, is, I began my engagement with 'Avengers: Doomsday' having experienced the finale of 'Loki' Season 2... So, to arrive at the film with that experience in that– The end of 'Loki' Season 2, I think Loki is afforded redemption and catharsis, which completes a long arc, which is set in motion at the beginning of the first 'Thor' film. You see this complicated character yearning for a center, a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, and his heart is broken and shattered by the revelation that he doesn't belong to his family. He doesn't belong to Asgard and he's filled with enormous grief, which hardens into grievance, which becomes the engine of his status as an antagonist in the first Avengers film.
Then, at the end of Loki's second season, he sees that he can "use his power as a demigod for a greater purpose," one that he has been searching for for a long time. Referencing when he said, "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose" in the first Avengers movie, he now sees that purpose as "[existing] for others" and feels that responsibility will be "more burden than glory," helping create "a new starting point" for his character:
And at the end of 'Loki' Season 2, he realizes that the kind of god... He can use his power as a demigod for a greater purpose that the whole journey of Loki has been an exploration of purpose and meaning. The beginning of 'Avengers,' he says 'I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose,' and his purpose is... exist for others and that he is going to use that purpose that it will be more burden than glory so that I arrived in 'Doomsday' with all of that experience, with that story having been told and it now creates a new starting point."
This will mark a massive change for Loki, who has been depicted in the MCU largely as an antihero or villain since his debut in 2011's Thor. Particularly in The Avengers, he returned to action as the movie's main villain, hoping to team up with Thanos and use the Infinity Stones to rule over Earth with the help of the Chitauri army.
Now, after ascending to his position as the God of Stories at the end of Loki Season 2, he has found a new "glorious purpose." Upon his return in Doomsday, he will seemingly be a full protagonist alongside the Avengers, coming back with meaning and purpose. This was first shown in the new material featuring Loki in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame Encore, when Hiddleston's hero appeared at Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter's doorstep to warn them of impending danger.
How Loki Will Be Different in Avengers: Doomsday
While Loki has been a semi-protagonist in past projects (most notably next to Chris Hemsworth's Thor in Thor: Ragnarok), this will be his first time in that position alongside the Avengers, whom he tried to destroy. This will bring a much different dynamic for everyone involved, particularly since this version of Loki is from an alternate timeline and did not have the same experience with Thor and the Avengers as his main-timeline counterpart.
It also remains to be seen how many of the Avengers he will interact with, as he currently has the task of overseeing every thread of time in the multiverse in his role as the God of Stories. This could give him the chance to work with more than just the original six heroes, even potentially putting him in the path of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom after Hiddleston and Downey's battles when the latter played Iron Man.
With multiple teams of heroes uniting to face Doom, Loki is sure to be one of the most powerful players in that bunch. While his specific plotline is still unclear, expect the former God of Mischief to have plenty of material to work with as he and the Avengers work to stop Doom from destroying all life in every universe.
