[Spoilers about Avengers: Infinity War below]
Many characters died in Avengers: Infinity War, or maybe they “died.” We won’t know until Avengers 4 (which should finally have a title by the end of the year) comes out in 2019. But there are actors who we definitively know won’t be returning for future Marvel Cinematic Universe titles. Idris Elba said goodbye to “my guy” Heimdall, while Zoe Saldana was in “shock” when she heard about Gamora (although we have our doubts). While appearing at ACE Comic Con in Seattle this weekend, Tom Hiddleston also confirmed the end of Loki’s reign as the MCU’s chief trickster. Or maybe that’s what Loki (who has come back from the dead before) wants us to think…?
“So, I’ve known about that scene for two years,” Hiddleston said about Loki’s Infinity War death scene. “I met with Marvel in May 2016, and they were actually telling me the story of [Thor: Ragnarok] with concept art and images. [Directors Anthony and Joe Russo] came in, and I introduced myself. So, all four of us sat down, and they said this is how Infinity War begins.” He added, “My whole journey through making Thor: Ragnarok — I knew this was coming. By the end of Thor: Ragnarok, Loki has been accepted as Thor’s brother again.”
“When I came to shoot the scene in Infinity War, I think it’s very powerful he calls himself an Odinson, and that closes the whole journey of Loki and what he can do. It [Loki’s death] set the stakes up emotionally. It takes the stakes up dramatically. You know that Thanos is someone who’s more dangerous than anyone we’ve seen before.” (Via)
Hiddleston makes a good point: the audience sees Thanos as a legitimate threat (and not another disposable Big Bad) after he kills the best villain in the MCU. But without Loki and Killmonger, who died in Black Panther, and presumably Thanos after Avengers 4, who will next take that mantle?
Now’s your time to break bad, Angsty Teenage Groot.
(Via Comic Book)