Tom Hiddleston has been playing Loki in the MCU for 14 years, and after the second season of his self-titled series neatly wrapped at the end of 2023, the actor thought maybe the time had come to say goodbye to the character.
Over a year went by, in which he made the film The Life of Chuck (in theatres now), but it turned out that Hiddleston was the Michael Corleone of the Marvel Universe – “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
Marvel made their cast announcement for Avengers: Doomsday back at the end of March, and Hiddleston was among the first batch to make the cut. He talked about the confirmation in a recent conversation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he exclaimed, “It’s actually such a relief to be able to say, ‘Yes, I’m in the film.’”
He revealed that he wasn’t aware of plans for Loki to return at the time of the series finale, stating, “I didn’t know that. So I was sincere in my conviction that I thought it was the end. I wasn’t lying to you, I promise. No, I didn’t know then. I didn’t know what the plan was.”
Although Hiddleston couldn’t divulge how Loki reenters the Marvel Cinematic Universe after his sacrifice in the Loki finale, the actor answered affirmatively when asked if he’s happy with his role in Doomsday. In Loki, He Who Remains warned that destroying the Temporal Loom would mean causing a “brutal war where nothing survives,” including the Sacred Timeline, setting up a multiversal conflict in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
“I do know some things. I know some things,” he teased. “It’s an extraordinary privilege to still be on the team, and that there’s more stories to tell. I feel like the character has grown as I’ve grown, and it’s genuinely an honor to still be in the squad.”
Hiddleston joins returning co-stars Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU, this time in the role of the villain Doctor Doom, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America, and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, as well as Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/the Falcon), Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor the Sub-Mariner), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Mabel Cadena (Namora), Alex Livinalli (Attuma), and Channing Tatum (Remy LaBeau/Gambit).
They are joined by Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent), and Lewis Pullman (Bob Reynolds/Sentry).
The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/the Thing) are confirmed to return, as are former X-Men franchise stars Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Kelsey Grammer (Beast).
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to release in theaters on December 18, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.
