Why does Tom Hiddleston keep saying "if" when discussing his possible return as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? He has done it a few times in recent interviews, most recently with MTV, who probed the actor about his approach to the villain in Marvel films past and present.
And again, Hiddleston kept it vague, mysterious and surprisingly non-committal. "If it ever happened again…" he begins a sentence in the interview with MTV News, before explaining how he’d try and change his interpretation of the wicked Asgardian. But Hiddleston sounds perplexed about how much Loki Marvel fans want in their Phase 3 movies, stating to the news outlet:
I never quite know whether people want to see him again or whether people want to move on… I can’t really take the temperature on it.
Guess what, Tom? People love Loki. They love him more than they love certain Avengers. (Yep, I’m looking at you, Hawkeye.) So far, Tom Hiddleston has helped turn Loki into the MCU’s most memorable villain, even though – admittedly – the competition hasn’t been that tough. Josh Brolin’s Thanos could change that. Please God, we hope that Brolin’s Thanos does change that. Because after years of teasing, and with a planned two-part battle coming up against him, Thanos has a lot on which he needs to deliver.
Back to Loki, and the confusion around Tom Hiddleston’s unwillingness to say, on the record, that he will return to the villainous role he made famous in two Thor movies and the first Avengers film. As far as we know, Loki is crucial to the plot of the next Thor sequel, Thor: Ragnarok. It is by Loki’s hand that Ragnarok, an apocalypse brought down on Asgard, begins. It’s possible that Marvel has different plans for its cinematic universe, and maybe they’ll have a different reason for the start of the cataclysmic war that we are expecting in Thor: Ragnarok. But when we left Loki at the end of The: The Dark World, he had tricked his brother (Chris Hemsworth) and had assumed the throne of Asgard. That’s a strange place to just leave a pivotal character like Loki, so I’d be willing to bet the farm that he will be back… and so will Hiddleston.
And then, maybe, the actor can stop saying "if it happens" in so many interviews.
