With Thor: Love and Thunder now in theaters worldwide, it’s probably starting to dawn on audiences how strange it is to be watching one of Chris Hemsworth’s solo films and not seeing Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. The God of Mischief has been an iconic part of the franchise since it started, but this time around he’s nowhere to be seen. This makes sense, of course, seeing how his character died in battle against Josh Brolin’s Thanos in the opening minutes of Avengers: Infinity War.
Yes, technically, there is a Loki out and about in the MCU somewhere—hence the Disney+ series named after him. But that character is someone else entirely. He’s not the same one the world had come to know prior to last year.
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.
While it’s hard to predict what Love and Thunder would look like if Loki was in it, the movie may have actually given a good hint as to where Tom Hiddleston’s character is. While he’s almost certainly still dead, as the post-credits scene shows viewers, it’s potentially more complicated than that; could Loki have ended up in Valhalla?
The Implications of That Post-Credits Scene
There’s a good chunk of new lore established during the two-hour runtime of Thor: Love and Thunder. However, some of the most important bits and pieces are directly tied to Jane Foster.
After picking up the hammer one last time in order to save the children, Thor, and every living god ever, Jane Foster’s body is unable to fight her cancer any longer. As she dies, she starts evaporating into golden god dust—a process seen a few times over the course of the movie.
Before the film ends completely, Natalie Portman’s character shows up again for the post-credits scene. Now she’s in white robes and is greeted by none other than Heimdall; they’re in Valhalla. So, if those two made it into Valhalla, does that mean Loki was granted the same passage?
Is Loki Drinking in Valhalla?
In Norse Mythology, dying in battle isn’t the only requirement for getting into Valhalla. An additional criterion is that whoever gains entry to the heavenly sanctuary has to be selected by Odin himself.
Thankfully for Loki, they happened to be on good terms when the father and adoptive son parted ways. So not only did Loki die in combat, but Odin would almost certainly have allowed him into the golden gates of Valhalla alongside Heimdall and now Jane Foster. Even then, if dying in battle is the only way, Loki not only did that, but he redeemed himself in the process. It would be a crime if he didn’t make it in.
Another part of getting into this particular promised land is that, generally, one has to be an Asgardian; Loki is a frost giant. However, there seems to be some wiggle room when it comes to criterion, seeing as Jane Foster made it through—so Loki definitely has a chance of being there.
Loki also sacrificed his life for his brother and the Asgardian people. That seems like it should be enough to have granted at least a one-way ticket to Valhalla. But will the audiences ever actually see the original God of Mischief again?
The Sun Will Shine on Loki Again
Assuming Loki is in Valhalla, what are the odds he might actually show up on screen? Well, pretty strong, especially once the story gets back to Natalie Portman's character. Maybe Jane will be having a drink with him before being called back down to Earth to take up her probable future mantle of being a Valkyrie alongside Tessa Thompson’s King.
But will Loki potentially make the trip with her back? It's possible, but having him running around alongside Loki's Variant of the same character could get a tad confusing—though that series already had plenty of different versions of the character. Would it be any different?
Many might feel that bringing back that particular Loki would cheapen his grandiose death in Infinity War, and that thought process wouldn't exactly be wrong. At the very least, it's safe to assume that the original Variant of the character will make at least a cameo appearance at some point.
The only Loki who will probably be getting any true spotlight outside of a cameo or two will be the one currently lost with the TVA in the Multiversal maze Sylvie created.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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