Actor Tom Hiddleston became an international star after he starred in the MCU as the Norse God of Mischief Loki. Starting with Thor, the actor slowly gained a cult following after his phenomenal performance as the main antagonist in the first The Avengers. Hiddleston’s Loki became so popular that he received his own Disney Plus series called Loki.
The second season finale of Loki was recently released to rave reviews from all around, with praise showering for Hiddleston’s performance and the character’s complete arc. When asked if it would be his final performance as the God of Mischief, Hiddleston said that he was satisfied with what they had done with the character. Spoilers ahead.
Tom Hiddleston’s Journey As Loki In The MCU
Tom Hiddleston’s twelve-year journey in the MCU began with Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, which featured him in a supporting role alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Hiddleston played the role of Loki, Thor’s half-brother who comes from the land of Frost Giants. Loki is the God of Mischief in Norse mythology.
Hiddleston’s Loki started as a villain in the MCU, aiming to be the king of Asgard and antagonizing his half-brother Thor. Though their father Odin treats Loki as his own, he often feels like an outsider and an outcast which causes him to act out. The character grows to be an anti-hero throughout several films.
Loki is the main antagonist in The Avengers, as he makes a deal with Thanos to provide him with an army to conquer Earth. He clashes with the Avengers and is the one who brings them together as a team. He tries to get hold of the Tesseract which has the Space Stone. The events of the film lead to a separate timeline which prompts the events of his series Loki.
Loki sacrifices himself at the beginning of Infinity War as he tries to save Thor from being killed by Thanos. His character begins his transformation from a villain to an anti-hero to finally a hero in the second season finale of Loki, where he takes over the responsibility to preserve the multiverse.
Tom Hiddleston Talks About Retiring From The MCU
At the end of the second season of Loki, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki seals his fate by taking over the responsibility to save the multiverse, taking the place of the Kang variant He Who Remains. He becomes the God of Stories, holding the weak multiverse together by creating a throne that resembles the mythical Asgardian tree Yggdrasil. He is set to stay there for the rest of eternity, making sure that the multiverse has no threat.
Tom Hiddleston has hinted many times that his tenure as Loki would be ending as many false endings have been given in the films and series. Loki was supposed to be gone for good at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War before he was revived in Loki. The ending of Loki is said to be Hiddleston’s final appearance in the MCU.
Tom Hiddleston addressed the prospects of retirement from the character in an interview with Josh Horowitz,
“I don’t know…There have been ‘Thank you’ notes exchanged between myself and Kevin Feige…but we just keep saying ‘Thank you’…I do feel very proud and satisfied with where we landed because I think as a team we brought it full circle…It is this ultimate journey of redemption.”
The actor spoke more about how the character of Loki changed from being someone who was affected by rejection and loneliness to someone who found a group where he was accepted. He also said that the ending honored the ancient and mythical weight of the character.
