So, Is Tom Hiddleston Playing Loki Beyond Thor: Ragnarok Or Not?
The God Of Mischief lives up to his name...
The great saga of Tom Hiddleston and Loki is turning into the MCU's Ross and Rachel situation. After The Dark World and his apparently cut role in Age Of Ultron, the English actor was widely quoted as saying he didn't know whether he'd ever be playing Loki again. Whether that was because EVERY bloody film journalist who spoke to him - regardless of what it was for - asked remains to be seen.
His latest conversation - with Entertainment Tonight - suggests he's expecting a genesis in the character: I havent played in the sandbox with Marvel for four years now and Im about to do it again. Im interested to see what the experience will be like because four years is a long time. Ive lived a lot of life in those four years. Inevitably, what I bring to the table will be different.
He also spoke with characteristic intelligence on how he built the character and what he brings to it:
I constructed him so carefully. The character's like a costume, in a way. I pick the fabric, I pick the colors and I cut it, and I tailored it to myself. I put it on, and wore it, and expressed something different about me, I suppose.
If that personal edge is what makes Loki so great, then it's inevitable that the question of him staying in the role longer comes up - particularly when he's so busy and so in demand. Can we expect him to come back? Is it too much to ask?
In the past month, Hiddleston has been speaking to various outlets about his situation, after he was recently supposedly quoted saying his role in Thor: Ragnarok would be his "last time out of the gate".
Obviously it's not that simple - as Loki quickly qualified I dont know! Honestly, I dont know. They havent got their ducks in a row yet. They make it up as they go along. The very suggestion!
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight (at the American Country Music Awards, where he was presumably lost or something) earlier this month, Hiddleston poured scorn on those attributed quotes, though he seems again to be courting vagueness: I don't know that I did say that don't believe everything you read..."
He has also spoke to the New York Daily News to state not only that he wants to see Loki star opposite Doctor Strange, but also that he does know what's going on: "Truthfully, I do actually know at the moment how many more times Im going to play Loki, but Im not going to tell you. Itns not personal, its just keeping it fresh for all paying customers to enjoy their films. And, also, Im the god of mischief so its my predisposition to play games.
So he might actually be done after Ragnarok, or he may be doing more. What is clear is that Hiddleston is well aware that working with Marvel means everything he says will be scrutinised and perhaps blown out of both proportion and context. As he said to Hypable:
When it comes to my relationship with Marvel, whenever I have said something it usually becomes expanded and misshapen and it then has no bearing to what I originally said at all. I have a pretty good sense of what my future with Marvel is but I dont think its worth telling anyone because it may change. They are very smart over there and like any creative process, they are free to change their minds. Throughout the Marvel universe Loki has changed from movie to movie. Sometimes hes even changed in the middle of movies in ways you may not even know.
It couldn't possibly be that the God Of Mischief unwittingly let slip that Loki will be killed off in Ragnarok and is now retracting furiously after a slap on the wrist, could it?
Marvel would be mad to limit their options with Loki. He's still their best villain, and while deferring to him is frustrating for anyone looking for originality, he still has unfinished business with Thanos so he could yet play a part in Infinity War. But then the Mad Titan might be slightly annoyed that Loki had two Infinity Gems within his grasp on Asgard and somehow conspired to not tell his one time boss. So maybe that's how he ends up being killed off...?