In Summer 2021, Marvel Studios rewarded Tom Hiddleston for his decade of service in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief. Following appearances in six MCU movies from the Infinity Saga, Hiddleston moved to Disney+ and took the leading role in his own solo series, Loki, which debuted in June 2021.
One of Loki's most prominent qualities is his ability to move back and forth between being a hero and villain, sometimes switching sides multiple times within one project. From teaming up with his adopted brother Thor in solo movies to taking on Earth's Mightiest Heroes and working for Thanos in the Avengers team-up films, Hiddleston has had the opportunity to show a wide range of emotions and skills.
More so than any other project, Hiddleston's Loki series had the chance to put his anti-hero onto a hero's path as he took on a Kang the Conqueror Variant and saw the Multiverse come apart at the seams. Following this effort, the actor behind the God of Mischief sees the opportunity to go even further in that direction.
Tom Hiddleston on Loki Going Full Hero
Speaking with Variety, Loki star Tom Hiddleston explored the MCU antihero's transition from being a pure villain to something of a hero for his future outings.
Looking at it from an Audience perspective, Hiddleston sees what the audience does in the God of Mischief as he works through the challenges in front of him:
“I understand the audience sees good in Loki — they want him to get past his internal and external obstacles."
This also comes with fans' wishes to see Loki "step into the hero" role:
“They want him to repair that relationship with his brother and step into the hero that he can be.”
Even though the character hides his solitary status by taking on a more villainous persona, Hiddleston sees Loki's ties with Owen Wilson's Mobius and Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie as something that makes him look at himself in the mirror and reconsider his path:
“He realizes, ‘Actually, I can choose my path and choose to do the right thing. Or I choose, at least, not to repeat the same old tricks that I repeated over and over in a cycle of trust and betrayal.' It's exciting to retain all the characteristics that makes Loki, Loki, and at the same time to play slightly different music within him.”
Loki Finding an MCU Redemption Arc
When Loki first returned to the MCU in Phase 4's Loki Disney+ show, the character was still fully invested in finishing what he started in his mission for world domination in The Avengers. Once he saw the way his life actually turned out in the Sacred Timeline's true events, not to mention seeing the Infinity Stones used as paperweights, he had the biggest reality check of his life to that point.
The following five episodes saw Hiddleston's character struggling with his identity, particularly with such an open path to make his own decisions toward being a hero or a villain. For Hiddleston specifically, he seems to love the idea of being able to keep all the history Loki's built in his past MCU adventures and use them to adapt into the best version of himself.
Now, Hiddleston is preparing for his seventh MCU movie in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which he will likely provide some much-needed insight into what's happening for the film's Earth-based heroes. The hope is that he will get to redeem himself even further alongside Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff, particularly with potentially universe-ending threats in front of them.
All six episodes of Loki are available to stream on Disney+. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theaters on May 6, 2022.
