Few villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe stick around for more than one movie, but Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a big exception. The character was first introduced in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, and his instant popularity led him to be a part of many more blockbusters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – including The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War. At present, Loki is the central character of his very own on-going series on Disney+… but very soon a notable streak will end: after appearing in all of the previous Thor movies, Hiddleston is not featured in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Given the history between Hiddleston and Thor star Chris Hemsworth, the two men playing on-screen brothers for nearly a full decade, you might think that there would be some strong emotions to be shared about the situation – but based on my interview with the Marvel star this weekend, that is evidently not the case.
I interviewed Chris Hemsworth and writer/director Taika Waititi late last week during the press day for Thor: Love And Thunder, and the two men got a bit goofy when I brought up the subject of Tom Hiddleston not being in the new film. Joking, Hemsworth explained that Loki isn’t in the new Marvel blockbuster because his character died in Avengers: Infinity War, but instead because Hiddleston personally didn’t want to be involved in a production with people he hated. Said Hemsworth,
He didn't want to be involved. He said 'I hate all of you, and in particular me,' and I was like, that's a shame. And that's it. I mean, how many times can we kill him?
Joking aside, Chris Hemsworth does have a point there. Between Loki falling into nothingness from the shattered Rainbow Bridge in Thor, his faked death in Thor: The Dark World, and his execution at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief has “died” and been revived a lot of times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon, and bringing him back for Thor: Love And Thunder in any kind of real way wouldn’t have made sense (plus it would have potentially cheapened his heroic moment in the opening scene of the second to last Avengers movie).
It’s possible that some kind of machination could have been developed that would have seen Variant Loki from the Loki series on Disney+ make an appearance… but he’s probably too busy dealing with the fallout of events featured in the Season 1 finale of the show to move across timelines and get involved with the plot of Thor: Love And Thunder.
Fans of Tom Hiddleston will have to emotionally deal with Loki not appearing in the latest Thor movie, but at the very least is the actor still friends with Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi? Well…
Chris Hemsworth: We love Tom. We love Tom. Yeah. But he's dead. Not him, but the character of Loki.
Taika Waititi: No, no he's just dead to us.
Chris Hemsworth: He's obviously dead to us, as far as friendship goes.
Loki fans can catch Season 1 of the character’s solo show with a Disney+ subscription now (Season 2 is on the way), and those waiting for the release of Thor: Love and Thunder don’t have much waiting left to do. The film, starring Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Tessa Thompson in addition to Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi, arrives in theaters in less than two weeks – specifically on July 8 (tickets are on sale now).
To learn more about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both on the big and small screens, check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.
